I'm so proud of me!

Total newbie of a few months....came home and chose a wine to have with hubby......I lean towards the French reds and grabbed a bottle of Hermitage that I picked up at my wonderful local Pennsylvania state store (I add this as it may have a lot to do with the rest of the story)

Chilled it, opened it and poured to decant.......I'll taste initially and then decide how long I want it to decant if at all but with my my initial smell test this time I went ARGHHHH........it smelled like ether. Didn't stop me from tasting and it was like water and ether mixed........I announced to my hubby that we needed a new bottle. He came in from the BBQ to inspect and found a bunch of "mold?" inside the bottle though the cork was fine! I was proud I recognized BAAAD wine but what happened here

okay, I'll quit with the emoticons

It was most likely sediment caked on the inside of the bottle rather than mold (too much sediment in youth can point to bad -too hot- shipping conditions).

Ether, eh?

Sounds like really bad VA (volatile acidity).

Who was the producer of the Hermitage, do you remember?

Also, you may not want to chill the wine so much next time. That can make the more desirable nuances of a wine taste and smell more closed.

Nobles Rives was the wine producer

It really had only chilled for a brief time but the whole bottle is lined with black stuff on one side. Didn't notice when I was uncorking.
I had ether as a kid..not a smell you forget!

Nobles Rives was the wine producer

The producer might be Cave de Tain L'Hermitage? I know their label says Nobles Rives. They're a coop in N. Rhone that put out an assorment of decent, affordable syrahs from a few of all of the regions there.
It does sound like it was spoiled somehow.

but the whole bottle is lined with black stuff on one side.

Sediment (the black stuff caked inside the bottle) is a natural occurrence of a wine aging, but if this was a newer release (and I assume it was) it probably means the wine was exposed to high heat at some point which spoiled the contents.

This came from one of the PA state shops?

Another thing to consider is the nature of Hermitage, which is certainly not for everyone

Best,
Joe

Sounds bad. Black "mold".

I recently opened a bottle of Italian red (can't even remember, but it was recommended by K&L Wines in San Francisco). My friend took a sip and asked me "is this supposed to have bubbles." Yuck Wonder what caused that? It was not perfectly stored at 58 degrees, but I had had the bottle only a coupole of months. Wierd.

Sometimes wine can undergo a second fermentation inside the bottle (in fact that's what they count on to make champagne). I have been given to understand that this normally only happens in three circumstances:

1) They want it to do this, thus the "Champagne Method".

2)They don't manage to kill off all the yeast in a bottle with some residual sugar left in the wine, or

3) The seal on the bottle was either broken accidently during shipping, or never sealed properly to begin with. this lets in wild yeasts which then proceed to do the same thing as in #2.

Sounds bad. Black "mold".

I recently opened a bottle of Italian red (can't even remember, but it was recommended by K&L Wines in San Francisco). My friend took a sip and asked me "is this supposed to have bubbles." Yuck Wonder what caused that? It was not perfectly stored at 58 degrees, but I had had the bottle only a coupole of months. Wierd.

I'll echo Carl's comments
I had one of these a while ago. Take it back to the supplier for a full refund. Typically they'll be aware of the problem, as it tends to hit (assuming it's reason 2) in large numbers within a batch.
regards
Ian

Another thing to consider is the nature of Hermitage, which is certainly not for everyone

I don't think anyone would have drunk this....I agree it was just BAAAAAAAAAD.

DH and I feel high heat most likely..........I doubt the PA state store are really careful is shipping their product and after all it came all the way from France. Chalk it up to live and learn.

Well, now you can be on the lookout for bottles with heat damage.

Hold it up the to light an see if you can spot lots of sediment. If the wine has been totally cooked, you can press on the cork and feel that it has protruded out of the bottle a little (or, feels “spongy“). Signs of seepage (wine drips on the label), though sometimes the drips come from another bottle breaking and are nothing to worry about. If the fill of the wine seems lower than it should be - especially if all the bottles of that particular wine show different levels of fill. If the color looks broken when you hold it up to the light...


When in doubt, find something else.

Best,
Joe.

and yes it was Cave de Tain L'Hermitage

I have a bottle of Cave de Tain L'Hermitage Hermitage Blanc 1999 in the basement. Anyone tried this wine lately? I wonder how she's doin'. I've always had good luck with the co-op in the past. They are by far the biggest land owners in the Northern Rhone and well-known for QPR wines.


Prost!
-Bill

DH and I feel high heat most likely..........I doubt the PA state store are really careful is shipping their product and after all it came all the way from France. Chalk it up to live and learn.

Actually, you don't need to chalk it up to experience if you still have the receipt. Pennsylvania state stores will take back bad bottles and give you a refund. That's true even if you've had the bottle for a good while (I took back a bottle I'd had for two years). You'll need to fill out a little paperwork, but it's straightforward.