WTN: Rollin to Hirsch, TCA in the time of covid

Last night I opened my last bottle of 2014 Rollin Pernand Vergelesses Sous Frétille. The body was weighty as always, and the fine mineral structure was present as always. But the fruit was shy. Too cold? Give it time to warm up. But still shy. Has never been opulently flavored in my experience, so perhaps it was just one of those different showings. But the shy fruit persisted.

So then I wondered if I had a case of no-smell covid! Quickly thrust my nose into roasted leeks, which were thankfully fragrant. More consultation with the wine suggested TCA.

Onto a much more fulfilling bottle of 2010 Hirsch Riesling Gaisberg. Beautiful! Fresh and lively but elegant and delicate. Succulent but crisp, layering into aging harmony, but still very vivacious. The sensations live!

[David M. Bueker]

I know, right? Every time something doesn’t smell as lively as I expect it should I briefly worry about COVID.

Glad the Hirsch performed well. Screw caps rule!

Glad the Hirsch performed well. Screw caps rule!

Indeed. With screw caps it’s nice to take the whole TCA debate off the table.

And I was very impressed with the Hirsch. It’s been years since I’ve had one. So lively and fresh for 10 years old. But still plenty of interest, not just a wine in suspended animation. Very much looking forward to opening 2011 Gaisberg next weekend.

There's a relatively rare genetic trait that renders one incapable of detecting TCA. I met one of those folks at a wine festival in Yakima. He was pouring out wine samples that positively reeked of TCA. I pointed this out, he tried some of the wine, and he said there was nothing wrong with it. I asked him to get someone else at the booth to taste it. He did, and that person had the same reaction that I did. I've often wished I were one of the lucky TCA non-tasters when a cherished and lovingly cellared bottle turns out irretrievable tainted.

I had my sense of smell knocked out by influenza once. It was at the New Year holiday and despite the illness I was determined to celebrate. I got some Chinese take-out and opened a bottle of Champagne. The food simply tasted salty and the wine tasted sour. The only good thing about losing my sense of smell is that I'd been to ill to clean the cat box for a couple of weeks.

-Paul W.

I've often wished I were one of the lucky TCA non-tasters when a cherished and lovingly cellared bottle turns out irretrievable.

I don’t know, just bc you don’t smell the TCA doesn’t mean you’ll be able to smell the wine in its proper state. Presumably the presence of TCA has blocked all those ‘normal’ compounds from developing?

[Jenise]

There's a relatively rare genetic trait that renders one incapable of detecting TCA. I met one of those folks at a wine festival in Yakima. He was pouring out wine samples that positively reeked of TCA. I pointed this out, he tried some of the wine, and he said there was nothing wrong with it. I asked him to get someone else at the booth to taste it. He did, and that person had the same reaction that I did. I've often wished I were one of the lucky TCA non-tasters when a cherished and lovingly cellared bottle turns out irretrievable tainted.

I had my sense of smell knocked out by influenza once. It was at the New Year holiday and despite the illness I was determined to celebrate. I got some Chinese take-out and opened a bottle of Champagne. The food simply tasted salty and the wine tasted sour. The only good thing about losing my sense of smell is that I'd been to ill to clean the cat box for a couple of weeks.

-Paul W.

Paul. #1: I can't believe you've been to Yakima. #2: laughed just now. Had Rahsaan's experience yesterday at panicking when something had no aroma that should have, and then just now walked into my bedroom and could smell the cat box. "Nope, no Covid today!" was my first thought.

[David M. Bueker]

I have also been to Yakima.

Happening place!

[Jenise]

Oh, it's a happen' place right now! Covid everywhere, and the locals don't believe in masks. They just had to close a Costco because 174 employees tested positive. I don't plan on being there anytime soon!

Presumably the presence of TCA has blocked all those ‘normal’ compounds from developing?

Probably not. TCA is only present in wine in parts-per-billion quantities. Unfortunately the normal human olfactory system can detect its presence in parts-per-billion quantities. But happily it does mean that TCA doesn't interfere with wine chemistry. The problem is that, for TCA-tasters, TCA masks the other wine flavors and aromas.

-Paul W.

Jenise,

Back in the 1990s when I was a software engineer for Digital Equipment Corporation, I had to travel to Seattle for a week of meetings with Microsoft on a joint projects. DEC had an engineering lab called DECwest in Seattle. While there I met up with a DEC engineer and fellow wine enthusiast named Mike Wolinski who used to work here in New Hampshire before moving to the west coast. I think he may have participated in WLDG once upon a time. There was a barrel tasting event in Yakima and we drove out there for a day trip. It was a lot of fun, although most of the wines were too oaky for my taste.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Paul, yes, I remember Mike. I believe he lived in--oh gosh, Mill Creek? M-something, a coastal town about 30 minutes north of Seattle.

Oak remains a problem here because it's a popular style, but there are many more wineries these days who reign it in. You'd find more to like. I've become acclimatized, though I'm still more Europhile than not.

Too bad about the Rollin, good producer and great vintage.
I like Hirsch but don't see much any more.

But happily it does mean that TCA doesn't interfere with wine chemistry. The problem is that, for TCA-tasters, TCA masks the other wine flavors and aromas.

-Paul W.

Amazing. That is some serious variation across tasters.

Amazing. That is some serious variation across tasters.

There are a lot of examples of chemical compounds that the human olfactory system can detect in parts-per-billion concentrations. A lot of the small molecule mercaptans (compounds with a thiol -SH group) are in that category. They're added to inflammable gases and volatile liquid fuels such as methane, propane, and butane, which otherwise would be odorless. But people can smell the mercaptan long before the leaked fuel reaches dangerous concentrations. They use different mercaptans in each fuel, so you know not only do you know you have a fuel leak, you know from the smell which fuel is leaking.

The genetic link for tasters vs. non-tasters for some chemicals is well known. The classic case is a compound called phenylthiocarbamide (PTC). To most people PTC tastes very bitter, but some folks can't taste it at all. We conducted this experiment in my 8th grade science class and found a couple of non-taster students. The non-tasters possess two faulty copies of the gene that enables PTC detection. It's classic dominant/recessive genetics. Apparently the same sort of thing occurs with TCA.

-Paul W.

Presumably the presence of TCA has blocked all those ‘normal’ compounds from developing?

Probably not. TCA is only present in wine in parts-per-billion quantities. Unfortunately the normal human olfactory system can detect its presence in parts-per-billion quantities. But happily it does mean that TCA doesn't interfere with wine chemistry. The problem is that, for TCA-tasters, TCA masks the other wine flavors and aromas.

-Paul W.

Parts per trillion, amazingly; a quoted human threshold is 2 ppt.