What is this, Covid?

I bought some nice Sainte Maure goat cheese today and wanted to open a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc to go with it. I don’t have too many of those since I drink roughly a bottle of SB a year but I had a recently purchased a Vincent Pinard Sancerre which felt appropriate. It turned out to be a dud but I did not think much of it but went ahead and popped a bottle of blanc de blancs from Lassaigne. It was no better, perhaps worse even, so I opened a bottle of Henri Germain’s Bourgogne Blanc. When that one smelled and tasted just as unpleasant as the two preceding wines I became worried and shared my worries with Otto, who kindly suggested Covid-19, being that many have reported losing their sense of smell.

Now I find it hard to believe that that would be the case since I have enjoyed perfectly well such items as Peroni, coffee, pizza, charcuterie and cheeses today (can’t complain) - shouldn’t the lost sense of smell/taste apply to pretty much everything and not just wine? I have also received my first vaccination (Pfizer) two months ago and have not stayed in contact with people outside my family for long periods of time. Anyhow, here are the notes for the wines:

2019 Vincent Pinard Sancerre les Créots: Pretty muted on the nose with a note reminiscent of a cleaning agent. On the palate has a nice medium body, somewhat firm yeat ethereal texture and very good acidity. Having said that I cannot get any fruit here - texturally I can enjoy the wine perfectly well but the flavors are not there.

NV Jacques Lassaigne Champagne Les Vignes de Montgueux Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut: The nose is totally dominated by a diacetyl-note, the typical freshness is not there at all. Smells repulsive. The mousse is very spry and fine. Again the structure seems totally fine and the wine is dry, nervous and energetic. But once again I cannot get any flavor whatsoever. I’ve had this wine a few times before, last time two months ago, so am somewhat familiar with it. This is unlike my prior experiences, completely.

2018 Henri Germain et Fils Bourgogne Côte d’Or: I can sense some oak on the nose but mostly it just smells metallic. It has a very nice mouthfeel - soft on the entry but then the acidity emerges and builds nicely towards the finish. That said, again I cannot taste any flavor here, it’s all mouthfeel. I’ve had a different vintage before and it was very expressive and tasty.

The wines were tasted from different glasses and I also washed all glasses before trying again, however the results did not change.

Please WB do share your thoughts. Is this Covid or could it be something else? I have absolutely no symptoms otherwise. Yesterday I opened a rosé from Hubert Lignier which had a pretty decent nose but was a lackluster wine otherwise, but I did not find any off-notes like with this trio and the fruit was certainly there. If not Covid, what else can it be? I’ve had it happen to me before where a mouthwash ruined my taste for a while but then it did not affect my sense of smell. Also the missus felt the same way of these wines, so if I have caught something then it would mean that she has too.

Roh-ruh…

Given that you can still smell non-wine items I’d say your causes are limited. Especially since you took the time to re-wash the stems. It could be just a run of poor bottles, shut down wines or low levels of TCA taint.

The one time I had a similar experience I could not get much aromas from wines. A couple years back I had purchased a set of the Gabriel-Glas stems from BerserkerDay. On that third bottle while struggling, again to get aromas I realized it could be the stems. I feel as though those stems really did not let the aromas for regular dry wine release properly. At least for me. So I no longer use them. But they feel nice and balanced in your hand. Set of six barely used for sale!

Well my three glasses were Zalto, Lehmann and Schott-Zwiesel, respectively, so I don’t think getting new glasses is the solution

Can’t hurt to get a test!

I have stretches like this two or three times a year. My sensory apparatus is effectively broken for a couple days, then returns to normal. I notice it mostly with taste - everything tastes acrid. I take a break from wine and then try again in a few days and things are rosy again.

If today is the first day, and if it were Covid, it might evolve over the next several days.

Just keep track, test if you like.

I lost all sense of smell with Covid and it took a bit to come back. I mention this because ‘mint’ was the first to go and last to come back. That first day, I thought, “Wow, my toothpaste and Dr. Bonner’s soap have no scent.” D’oh!

It’s been 6 months and Dr. Bonner’s is still not all the way back.

I think other people might notice scents before I do now, as well.

For fun, try Afrin and see if it makes a difference.

Bring them Saturday! I’ll take them off your hands.

I just lost my sense of taste/smell Saturday after testing positive Wednesday (was feeling well Saturday as an aside). I literally can’t smell anything, and can only taste salty, sweet, savory, sour, and bitter I.e. stuff you taste with your tongue. I took a sip of what would normally be a very pungent IPA the other day and it tasted like seltzer water. Something that would normally smell bad has no smell, this makes me think it was off bottles or glassware.

Extreme root day? Regardless of brand/shape, if all the glasses were washed the same way and had the same possible soap or residue, that could be something as well.
Too narrow (wine only) to think it would be loss of senses from a virus or illness.

Deleted this post, sorry, was responding to the wrong person.

My expert opinion, as a doctor of letters in literature, is that it probably isn’t Covid, given that it doesn’t sound exactly like loss of taste. The problem is, that, given what I read in the newspapers, you could have a nearly non-symptomatic breakthrough infection (the vast majority of breakthrough infections are very mild), and if you did have one you might be infectious. So, in your position, I would get tested and act accordingly if it is positive. It will be a mild inconvenience for you and the whole thing will soon go away, but it might be much more serious for someone else you gave it to. Good luck. I hope you have lost the symptoms by tomorrow.

until “science” comes up with a way to test for covid, we’ll never know. good luck! huge fan of germain’s wines as well.

I had COVID back in March, before my age group was vaccine eligible. The first symptom (upset tummy) was so slight that I did not think much of it. It was 7 days later before the next symptom (chills) appeared. Got tested, positive result. About a week after that, which was now 14 days or so after my first symptom, I popped a bottle of a wine I drink regularly, and it tasted off. The next night I popped a different wine, but still one I drink regularly, it also tasted off. I realized that my taste for wine was off, which was weird, because my taste and smell were otherwise unaffected the entire time. About a week to 10 days later, back to wine and all was back to normal. Nowadays, anything regarding taste or smell loss or change, I say get tested.

Apologies for the earlier mistaken post.

And, if you are fortunate and the test is negative, go out immediately and get vaccinated.

I had COVID last august and never lost my sense of taste or smell. Starting the following January, several tastes changed dramatically and have not gone back to normal. Coca Cola tastes like it is laced with rosemary, onions are mor pungent, and pertinent to this board, I am very sensitive to the cat piss descriptor for Sauvignon blanc. I also know a person who now thinks red wine tastes rancid, on a similar time frame after recovering. She has a cellar and hasn’t touched a bottle in 5 months.

If anybody is on the fence about the vaccine, maybe that is enough motivation to get a jab!

Wish it were so easy here!

A great majority of Finnish people have received their first shot, but most of us are still waiting for the second one. As there is a strict order in which the vaccines are given, we can’t just walk in and get vaccinated.

Indeed. I’ll be getting my second shot early next month but as far as I know there is no way of getting it any sooner given that I am (relatively) young and healthy.