Dear Roger, I enjoy reading your answers each week. You do an excellent job of providing thoughtful, thorough answers to the questions asked. My question involves a 2009 Oregon Pinot Noir. The wine was an excellent wine in its youth and is still a fruity, well structured and balanced wine at this age. However, I found a slight aroma similar to paint thinner/nail polish masking the underlying fruit, earth and spice aromas. I stoppered the bottle, put it in the fridge and tasted it over the next two nights. The paint thinner dissipated by the third night, but the fruit, earth other aromas were also weakening at this point. The corked came out of the bottle in one piece and appeared in excellent condition with only the bottom 1/8th inch stained. However, the cork was somewhat spongy compared to harder corks that you may typically find in French wine. There was no seepage. Do you think the fault is volatile acidity? Do you have any suggestions as to how to eliminate the paint thinner aroma? Best regards, Frank Bramwell
Answer From Expert Roger Bohmrich MW
Thanks very much for your kind words! It's great to get such encouraging feedback. Regarding your 2009 Pinot Noir, your diagnosis seems largely on target. Volatile acidity or VA for short - which is principally acetic acid - is a normal component of wine and can in fact accentuate complexity if present at typically low concentrations. Ethyl acetate indeed may recall nail polish and is rarely pleasant; it is an ester formed from acetic acid and alcohol. It can sometimes be found in conjunction with volatile acidity. The combination can deliver a piercing odor of chemical solvent and vinegar. The source of these volatile odors is cellar handling, so the cork is not at issue. As you found, lengthy aeration may be somewhat helpful but also diminishes the wine's fruit. Further bottle age might induce positive changes, but it is likely these issues will persist. Best advice for your still-youthful but faulty Pinot: cellar it for another year or two and decant for an hour prior to drinking. Hope this helps!
