Community Tasting Note

• AJ72 wrote: 86 points

  August 31, 2017 - This is a polarising wine and I confess being a winemaker for my profession sees me marking this harshly. I really don't like brett but if you don't have a problem with it then this wine may still appeal to you. It's not completely stuffed and has a good deal of fruit underneath it but to me it's been affected too much. Having seen first hand the impact Brett has on wine it's hard to understand why many producers and consumers seem to be so oblivious to it? If you have the right equipment to deal with the issue in the winery you can reduce or avoid getting it altogether. I'm not advocating squeaky clean technically made wines either but Brett is NEVER doing anything good. I see many expensive wines on these pages with Brett issues getting praise heaped upon them (Thierry Allemand etc) and wonder how long it will take the general consumer to start to notice? I can understand as it's not something that easily recognised it's only through years of analysing wine that you begin to see it and then the damage that it does to your own wines. I was once dismissive about colleagues who were "Brettcentric" but there's no turning back after you've seen the light. Maybe ignorance is bliss.
  
  Edit 11/13/2017: To back up my comments I will provide the laboratory analysis (costs around $80 per test) for 4EP:4EG levels present in this wine. These are the compounds which are responsible for the alteration of a wine's DNA when Brett affected. If the laboratory analysis indicates no presence of Brett I shall eat my words.
  
  Edit 12/04/2017: Okay the results are in for this wine. The wine has been tested for presence of 4EP:4EG in the sample and tested by a NADA accredited laboratory which we use all the time to test our own wines. The sample was taken from a fresh bottle so bottle variation is not a factor in this.
  
  4 Ethyl Phenol= 760ppm
  4 Ethyl Guaiacol= 110ppm
  
  This is a very high level given that threshold of detection is around 50ppm. The ratio between the two is about 7:1 (4EG:4EP). This is indisputably a bretty wine which backs up my original judgement and comments. To me the wine is impacted but if you like it then take these results with a grain of salt and keep enjoying wine irrespective of whether it's bretty or not. However you can't deny the presence of brett.
  
  Cheers
  
  Adam

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20 Comments

• lightning commented:

  8/31/17, 3:55 AM - Intriguing. I think ignorance is bliss in this instance - I don't mind Brett (or rather, have not had it at such levels to find it annoying/distracting), however I am very alert to tca and cannot get past the mildest levels - hence can understand your perspective. I have just picked up some Allemand - will keep my eye out for the brett you mentioned.

• Seth Rosenberg commented:

  8/31/17, 4:35 PM - Thanks for the detailed note. I strongly disagree with your assessment, but I do appreciate the thoughtful analysis that you put forth. I do have one question however: given your statement about the Brett, isn't the correct course of action to mark the wine as 'flawed' in your note as opposed to scoring it?

• dream commented:

  8/31/17, 6:06 PM - I've had too many great bottles of cavallotto that have shown no brett whatsoever (and I'm very sensitive to brett and don't generally like it) to accept this analysis. You obviously had an off-bottle perhaps from an off-batch but it is not the norm from this great producer.

• admid commented:

  8/31/17, 9:33 PM - Thx for the comment, and for starting a good discussion ;)
  
  PS! What is the LOT number on your bottle?
  
  Just a comment;
  Sensitivity, which I really think depends on the person itself (and off-course preferences, as you indicate). I have tested brett-sensitivity with my winedrinking friends many times, and where some indicate high levels, others hardly taste something at all. Equivalent to being sensitive to sulfites or not.
  However, Brettanomyces is a big family and comes in many versions. Some are more prominent than others, and with different flavours and aromas. I would guess the individual wineconsumer will react differently to each species of Brettanomyces.
  When you mix these facors together, I would say the general picture is a little more complicated than just discrediting many consumers for being ignorant to brett.
  
  Also, in some regions and appelations Brettanomyces is "mistaken" for terroir. Is this right or wrong? I do not know, but I would guess there are more wines with brett around, than we normally assume.
  
  When coming back to your comment, I would say that I agree with Seth Rosenberg about putting it as flawed. And rather say that from your perspective it is undrinkable b/c of brett-level. I would also have added the LOT-number, since there obviously are different opinions about the wine.

• AJ72 commented:

  9/3/17, 6:00 AM - Yes i agree flawed would be a more adequate assessment. I will remove the score altogether though and just let the comments be the guide.
  
  Dream. I hear what you're saying. As I said this is how I see the wine and maybe it was an off bottle but normally wouldn't be the case. I am being a bit harsh as I said and fully understand your support of the producer.
  
  Warning! Please do not read on if you wish never to burdened with Brett detection when consuming wine! Ignorance is bliss.
  
  Admid. A product of Brettanomyces metabolism is 4-EthylPhenol and 4-EthylGuaiacol. They contribute grubby barnyard band aid characters to the aroma, diminish fruit freshness, mask expression and alter texture and mouthfeel. Severity depends on levels present and in what ratio. Brett is like a parasite that feeds on the wines DNA and alters it irreversibly.
  
  It is identifiable by specific analysis in a laboratory. These specific compounds and the ratio they are present in will determine whether it's likely to be detectable. It is correct as you say that the threshold of detection will be different for everyone. At low levels of <50ppm it's usually not an issue and possibly undetectable. Above this threshold (sometimes below depending on ratio) if you notice it that's never a good thing. This doesn't mean the wine is not still enjoyable but does mean the wine is no longer a 100% representation of what it should be. Whether that be a minor 0.5% reduction or more it's a negative impact.
  
  Brett spoilage results in the same changes of a wines makeup no matter where they're from in the world so I wouldn't consider it to be a component of terroir. I will report back the results of the lab test and eat my words if there is no presence of 4EP:4EG.

• AJ72 commented:

  9/3/17, 3:48 PM - Unfortunately the sample I had left at work has been discarded so not able to test the wine.

• guitarguy commented:

  11/8/17, 6:42 AM - I ended up (due to mystery wine purchases from Garagiste) with ten of these bad boys. I have a low threshold for detection of Brett and it makes me wretch so I’ll pop one soon to evaluate and return to Seattle if mine show it. Price dropped significantly on “mystery” offer...maybe Rimms knew it was flawed and was a dump by the winery???

• AJ72 commented:

  11/8/17, 2:47 PM - Guitar Guy. I wouldn't expect a reduced price due to brett issues but probably more due to stock needing to be moved on. I don't think the winery would think they have an issue along with many, many old and new world producers around the world.

• guitarguy commented:

  11/9/17, 6:40 AM - Agreed but to me it is a flaw, seems due to inattentive winemaking (in most cases, not all). I met a winemaker (Kiwi) who used to be a senior exec in one of the majors (can't remember if it was Fosters, Constellation, etc.) and he agreed with me it was a flaw but he told me not to quote him because there were so many in the biz who accept it as "terrior".

• AJ72 commented:

  11/9/17, 1:53 PM - Unfortunately no matter how devoted to hygiene or fastidious you are in the cellar no one is immune to the chance of getting brett spoilage in their wine. I thought I was doing all the right things until one year we inexplicably had an outbreak in our barrels. After trying various things it took me three years to find the solution. Many sleepless nights let me tell you. The solution was to purchase a barrel steamer which has eliminated the problem. I'm not doing anything differently than I was before only now there isn't a brett issue.

• guitarguy commented:

  11/9/17, 3:45 PM - I guess my irritation is as yours, vintners not finding out the source and continuing the same practices that invariably lead to more contamination, that is the real sin, not an unintended occurrence that leads to your situation of figuring it out and ending it.

• AJ72 commented:

  11/10/17, 2:34 AM - Agreed. I have actually purchased another bottle of this wine. I will taste it and send it off for analysis 4EP:4EG. Post results when I have them.

• AJ72 commented:

  12/3/17, 5:35 PM - Okay the results are in for this wine. The wine has been tested for presence of 4EP:4EG in the sample and tested by a NADA accredited laboratory which we use all the time to test our own wines.
  
  4 Ethyl Phenol= 760ppm
  4 Ethyl Guaiacol= 110ppm
  
  This is a very high level given that threshold of detection is around 50ppm. The ratio between the two is about 7:1 (4EG:4EP). This is indisputably a bretty wine which backs up my original judgement and comments. To me the wine is flawed but if you like it then take these results with a grain of salt and keep enjoying wine irrespective of whether it's bretty or not. However you can't deny the presence of brett.
  
  Cheers
  
  Adam

• guitarguy commented:

  12/4/17, 7:36 AM - Thanks Adam. I’ll pull one tonight.

• admid commented:

  12/4/17, 9:33 AM - hi AJ,
  
  What is the name of your winery?

• AJ72 commented:

  12/4/17, 2:25 PM - Admid. I would prefer not to disclose my place of work.

• klouwer commented:

  8/29/18, 12:56 PM - Had a bottle with a strange smell that I couldn't place. I knew it wasn't right and I knew it wasn't corked. Came here to look for some clues. I had no idea what Brett was but clearly the distinct band-aid smell is there. Not so bad that I couldn't finish the bottle but certainly enough to know this is not what this wine should taste like.
  
  Thanks for your analysis and test!

• dream commented:

  8/29/18, 2:18 PM - Well, the smell of band aids certainly sounds like brett to me. I personally haven't had a problem with Cavallotto and brett although I can sense that there's a hint of it in small doses. Of course, this could be a bottle to bottle issue and perhaps certain bottles were affected more than others.

• AJ72 commented:

  8/29/18, 6:34 PM - Brett is an incredibly divisive subject. I wish I never knew what it was to be honest. Once you see it, it's hard to look past it. There is no doubt it has a negative impact on the composition of a wine. Having worked in a winery with a history of it there is no sure fire solution either to prevent it from happening. Brett is a resilient b(y)east.

• liteagilis commented:

  9/6/18, 10:05 PM - Seth and I are on the same page.

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