Cork taint

AKA TCA (2,4,6-trichloroanisole for the technically minded) is the most widely recognised wine fault. Although some people are more sensitive than others to the whiff of damp, mouldy cardboard that characterises this problem, it is true to say that once you have smelled a badly corked wine, you never forget the mouldy odour. The problem is that many people do not recognise a mildly corked wine, as this can merely deaden the fruit rather than being overtly whiffy.