I suspect I’m not hyper-sensitive to TCA, as I’ve been at tastings where others pick it out and I don’t. But today I opened a bottle from a lower price point producer up near Anderson Valley that I’ve enjoyed for many years. The wet cardboard aroma nearly jumped out of the bottle. I poured a glass and, while the palate wasn’t horrible, there was no hope of getting past the nose. Considering I’ve enjoyed many bottles from them without issue and have no gripe here, should I let them know? I don’t want to come off as looking for a replacement bottle, as I really am not. So wondering if there’s any value to a producer in knowing that a bottle of x Pinot from y year was corked.
Let them know. If they are getting a number of complaints they will want to seek out the source.
Likely little to no value. Corked bottles are to be expected every year. If purchased directly from the producer (and even if not) I don’t think there’s anything wrong with asking for a replacement bottle unless the cost is so low as to not be worth the hassle and shipping.
Fair point Randy. Unless customers communicate its possible they never know if it’s a real problem or just the normal odds.
I say absolutely let them know…
If you’re not looking for a replacement bottle than you’re just giving them an FYI… I say that’s a good thing.
I would let them know, if for no other reason than to urge them to switch to twist off or Diam- anything with a more acceptable failure rate.
+1
I know of a number of producers who track corked bottles and want to know.
I always let the producer know - as others have said, it’s good info for them to have. I never expect a replacement bottle, and that certainly is not my motivation for telling them.
Why not expect a replacement bottle or a credit if they are out of wine?? You purchased something that was no good.
George
+1. A corked bottle of wine is a defective product, and consumers should expect (demand) a replacement or a refund. Whether it’s worth your time to ask for one is another matter, and presumably is partly a function of how inexpensive the wine was.
Bruce
From a winery’s standpoint, they want to be sure that your experience with their product is the best possible, and they should want to try and rectify the corked bottle by replacing it. There are too many instances where somebody buys a wine, takes it home and opens it, but doesn’t know about flaws, and just thinks the wine is no good, and never buys from that producer again, not knowing that it was just a bad bottle.