I opened a nice 2013 cabernet last night and immediately suspected that it was corked. The musty, moldy smell blew off enough to question my instincts. The wine was drinkable, although not as good as we’d hoped. Had a subtle undertone of musty, wet newspaper. Interestingly this morning when I was cleaning up, I noticed something strange on the cork I’d never seen before, even in flawed bottles. Does that look like mold? Anyone seen that before?
The producer is already sending a replacement bottle - excellent customer service!
I don’t think mold could grow inside a bottle of alcoholic beverage. It’s probably some sediment or precipiatates from the wine that hardened on the cork.
Thanks for the reply. I still think mine looks a bit different. Maybe my picture doesn’t do it justice, but they are very much spherical. I see the crystals quite frequently, but I’ve never seen the consistent spherical pattern like this one.
Pure tartaric crystals would be white. That’s likely what seeded those growths, but other precipitants can then be drawn to the build up. Tannin and pigment.
