Like some other posters here, to me TCA has a smell similar to bleach or some cleaning solutions that contain bleach. I often am reminded of TCA when I enter Denver International Airport using one of the garage entrances - due no doubt to whatever it is they are using to clean/disinfect the enclosed entrance area.
I’ve been so happy the past couple of years not having often encountered a corked wine pulled from my cellar. I think the reduced frequency is partly due to the fact that my consumption has shifted to Oregon Pinot Noir from a handful of producers, most or all of whom have switched to bottling with DIAM corks. Then yesterday/last night I once again encountered a corked bottle, the first in a long time: a JB Neufeld Old Goat. I was so bummed. Brought back sad memories of some stretches I had with Southern Rhone and Northern Rhone wines where it seemed so bad that I started worrying about a wine being corked every time I opened a bottle.
Some of us might be really insensitive or even immune to it, maybe? Over 500 bottles popped over the past couple of years and not a single one that I could say was corked. Varying regions, producers, vintages, so having 0 corked bottles doesn’t make sense. A few were strangely muted, but still could find some fruits here and there, plus other people found other bottles to be the same.
In fact had a chance to play around with Le Nez du Vin set with faulty aromas and TCA was completely empty to me. All the rest was giving me a lot of intensity but smelling the TCA one was like just breathing air. Right then and there I understood that this won’t be a career for me.
In my experience it is indeed very individual. I know an MW who has a very high tolerance for TCA, but is nonetheless (obviously, having passed the exam) an excellent taster.
For me TCA really does smell like wet moldy cardboard. Even in wines where it is minimal, the longer the wine sees air the more obvious it becomes. The trick is to let the wine see some air if you suspect it and when you go to smell your glass, do not swirl before smelling. Swirling will allow any positive aromas that may remain in the wine mingle with the TCA. I find that if you smell the wine undisturbed the TCA is usually significantly more obvious.
