1996 Margaux: shut down, corked, or poorly stored?

I tasted a 1996 Margaux via Corvin this evening: Very muted nose upon pouring. Not a good sign. Hints of sweet oak (good). Quick taste and was very overwhelmed. Tasted like a watered down burgundy. Let it sit for 2 hours, checking up on it every 30 minutes. Opened up only very slightly, but still nothing impressive. Tasted again and at least tasted more fruity and juicy now, but with hints of pool water (chlorine). At least it is was very light and focused on the palate.

Nevertheless, got frustrated so just gulped down the rest.

Was this a poorly stored bottle? or shut down? or corked? If I had tasted this blind, I would have guessed its a 10yr old $80 1er cru Burgundy wine. What a disappointing night.

the taste of chlorine to me suggests corking?

In my experience, the ‘96 Ch. Margaux has been absolutely singing every time I’ve tasted it, starting in 2008. It should continue to improve for another 15+ years! What you’re describing is atypical, and sounds like a bad bottle. I’ve had relatively good luck with the coravin, but would never be so brave as to use it on a treasure like the 96 Ch. Margaux.

Tell us more about this Coravin experience. Was this your bottle, fresh, never tasted? If so, curious to learn why the choice to use the Coravin? Was this a friend’s bottle who gave you a taste?

Was this a restaurant or commercial tasting experience? Had the wine previously been Coravin’d?

chlorine could be from a tainted glass.

Mine bought on release have been stellar. BTW, I’ve never tasted a 1er cru Burgundy that tastes like what you describe.

Doesn’t sound like TCA but definitely sounds like a bad bottle. It doesn’t sound like it’s cooked or oxidized, either in terms of bad storage. I’m often not able to put my finger on exactly how/why a bottle is flawed and sometimes just have to conclude that these wines are fermented beverages and produced in non-clean room environments, so sometimes weird shit just happens. Non technical catch all…

I can’t say I’d ever even consider using a coravin on a 25 year old first growth. Seems like too many variables there. I typically treat those wines as carefully as I can just to be sure.

This was a fresh bottle, never opened. I had bought this bottle from Vinfolio a few years ago, so provenance is unknown. I used Coravin because I am currently confined to my home because of an injury and wanted to do something fun without having to finish the entire bottle.

Cork was very tight and immediately resealed upon removing the Coravin needle.

I’d contact Vinfolio. Shipping snafu that was not their fault on a not inexpensive bottle, but they took care of me.