ARTICLE: Winery Sues Supplier Alleging Barrels Were Contaminated with TCA

[n4sir]

Opus One Sues Supplier Alleging Barrels Were Contaminated with TCA
Wine Business.com
by Kerana Todorov
December 13, 2018

https://www.winebusiness.com/news/?go=getArt ... 9E.twitter

A Napa Valley winery has filed a lawsuit for more than $470,000 over the sale of barrels allegedly contaminated with 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA), according to court records.

Opus One Winery LLC alleges 10 French oak wine barrels were contaminated with TCA, resulting in the loss of 590 gallons of Cabernet Sauvignon.

The defendants listed in the lawsuit include Alain Fouquet and Associates Inc., Alain Fouquet French Cooperage, Bouyoud Distribution and associated entities, according to the complaint filed Tuesday in Napa County Superior Court.

Opus One seeks at least $471,356 in damages, which include wine losses, $9,800 for the 10 barrels and testing expenses, according to the lawsuit. Opus One also seeks lawsuit-related costs, according to the court filing.

The wine allegedly contaminated in the defective barrels could have been sold for about $140 per bottle wholesale, according to the complaint.

Opus One in July 2016 received 150 barrels, including the 10 that are the subject of the lawsuit, according to court documents. The barrels were certified to be TCA-free for three years, according to the court filing.

However, an Opus One employee in January 2017 detected an odor of TCA in one of the barrels, according to the complaint. Opus One sent samples from each of the 150 barrels to a laboratory, according to the court filing.

Test results allegedly showed heightened levels of TCA in 10 of the barrels, according to the complaint. The wine – about 590 gallons of Cabernet Sauvignon – was removed and placed into three storage vessels and tested, according to the court filing. Laboratory test results showed each of the wine samples contained TCA, the complaint alleged.

Opus One alleges “errors in the selection of the oak wood staves used to construct the (barrels), errors in the storage, maintenance or cleaning of the (barrels), and failure to properly inspect and test the (barrels) before delivering them to (the plaintiff),” according to the lawsuit.

Alain Fouquet on Wednesday referred questions to Bouyoud Distribution, saying he is only a distributor for the barrels.

Alain Fouquet and Associates Inc. is a distributor for the brand Alain Fouquet French Cooperage, Fouquet said. TFF Group of France owns Bouyoud and Alain Fouquet French Cooperage, TFF’s website indicates. Neither TFF nor Bouyoud representatives could be immediately reached to comment on the complaint.

An attorney representing Opus One said he was not authorized to comment on the lawsuit.

[Mahmoud Ali]

Interesting. If TCA can originate in oak barrels, expensive French ones at that, then surely it would appear in screwcapped wines aged in oak. What gives?

Mahmoud.

[Polymer]

It isn't saying all barrels have TCA..but they can be one source of it. And it is also why it is possible to have a corked with with screwcap...It is not common though because you'd like to think they'd have caught the problem when the wine is in barrel far before it ever got bottled.

To me it is pretty ironic though given CA wineries are pretty poor at replacing corked wine (Not saying that is the case for Opus One, just in general...

I'm not sure how they guarantee the barrels from being TCA free for 3 years though...is there some sort of anti TCA thing in oak?

[Mike Hawkins]

My guess is Opus One has had issues before. In one of my rare experiences with it, we sent the first two bottles back at a NY restaurant due to TCA.

[Mahmoud Ali]

It isn't saying all barrels have TCA..but they can be one source of it. And it is also why it is possible to have a corked with with screwcap...It is not common though because you'd like to think they'd have caught the problem when the wine is in barrel far before it ever got bottled.

I think it's pretty obvious that the article didn't say that all barrels have TCA, since the law suit claims that 10 of the 150 barrels that were delivered were TCA affected. As for TCA affected wine being "caught" before bottling, I have yet to hear about producers dumping TCA-affected wine either.

Mahmoud.

[Waiters Friend]

Barrels can impart TCA. One of the routine tasks in a winery is to taste wines in barrel to determine that they are not TCA affected. Better to catch it in one (or in this case, 10) barrels than discover it when the blend has already been put together in a tank for bottling.

[Mahmoud Ali]

Barrels can impart TCA. One of the routine tasks in a winery is to taste wines in barrel to determine that they are not TCA affected. Better to catch it in one (or in this case, 10) barrels than discover it when the blend has already been put together in a tank for bottling.

I agree, TCA (and other taint inducing chemicals) may be found in barrels but I have always thought it rare and more often than not thought that contamination of barrels tends to be the result of external contamination. From an old article in Wine Spectator:

Many cases of taint are caused by other environmental problems at wineries, such as moldy cellars, antifungal treatments and flame-retardant paints. Like TCA, a compound called 2,4,6-tribromoanisole (TBA) gives off musty, papery aromas; it is used in preservatives to treat wood. Contamination from chemically treated woods in renovated cellars plagued many estates in France, particularly in the 1990s. Some properties had to tear down and reconstruct buildings to eradicate the problem.

A website specializing in detecting wine faults had this to offer:

Brett comes in from the vineyard. It does not compete well with other wine yeasts and will not ferment juice. However, once fermentation is complete and there is no competition, Brett can become established. Barrels are ideal environments for Brett survival and wines are typically inoculated by old barrels as Brett has gotten established in empty barrels that previously held wine.

Preventing Brett is a matter of cellar sanitation. Cool cellars and appropriate levels of SO2 go a long way to preventing Brett formation. Wines with higher pH promote Brett growth and require higher levels of SO2 to gain the appropriate killing power. Brett easily feeds off of residual sugar. Wines with any residual sugar or high pH require special vigilance in the cellar to prevent Brett formation.

A winebusiness article in 2010 has this to say:

And of course, TCA is more apt to contaminate a barrel during shipping, transport, or even when an unknowing cleaning crew uses bleach to clean the facilities -- which happens more often than one might think. I've never heard of TCA in new barrels being much of a problem but we often hear rumblings about used barrels that have been contaminated with one thing or another.

There is more to this article and one can read it here:

https://www.winebusiness.com/blog/?go=getBlo ... taId=79634

The interesting thing in the article is that they refer to Pascal Chatonnet, apparently one of the foremost authhorities on TCA, who believes that barrrel taint is higher than previously thought. However he also offers inspection services for barrels and some perceive his assertion of higher levels of taint as a confliuct of interest.

What interested me most about Pascal Chatonnet was that I own several bottles of 2005 Chateau L'Archange, Saint-Emilion.

L'Archange.jpeg

Mahmoud.

[Andrew Jordan]

My guess is Opus One has had issues before. In one of my rare experiences with it, we sent the first two bottles back at a NY restaurant due to TCA.

That was quite a funny night ...!

[Polymer]

It isn't saying all barrels have TCA..but they can be one source of it. And it is also why it is possible to have a corked with with screwcap...It is not common though because you'd like to think they'd have caught the problem when the wine is in barrel far before it ever got bottled.

I think it's pretty obvious that the article didn't say that all barrels have TCA, since the law suit claims that 10 of the 150 barrels that were delivered were TCA affected. As for TCA affected wine being "caught" before bottling, I have yet to hear about producers dumping TCA-affected wine either.

Mahmoud.

I'm not saying it is...it is just your original question was worded funny..

If TCA can originate in oak barrels, expensive French ones at that, then surely it would appear in screwcapped wines aged in oak. What gives?

And the answer to that is yes, it can. But I think that would be obvious right? I don't know if you're suggested TCA cannot originate in barrels and if so we'd see a lot more problems (it can) or if you think, in this case, Opus One infected the barrels themselves in some way (entirely possible and what the Barrel reseller will argue) or if you think TCA is in all barrels already (in a way not impacting the wine)..

But producers will dump bad wine...for TCA and other reasons...I don't think this problem is all that common though and surely wouldn't be advertised...

[Mahmoud Ali]

"What gives?" is funnily worded?

Also, do you not read intevening posts?

Mahmoud.

[Ozzie W]

If TCA can originate in oak barrels, expensive French ones at that, then surely it would appear in screwcapped wines aged in oak. What gives?

And the answer to that is yes, it can. But I think that would be obvious right? I don't know if you're suggested TCA cannot originate in barrels and if so we'd see a lot more problems (it can) or if you think, in this case, Opus One infected the barrels themselves in some way (entirely possible and what the Barrel reseller will argue) or if you think TCA is in all barrels already (in a way not impacting the wine)..

But producers will dump bad wine...for TCA and other reasons...I don't think this problem is all that common though and surely wouldn't be advertised...

I've no idea if Opus One use them, but oak chips can also be a source of TCA. Even stainless steel vessels aren't immune.

[Polymer]

"What gives?" is funnily worded?

Also, do you not read intevening posts?

Mahmoud.

Of course I do...but that has nothing to do with what you originally posted.

You posted about barrels and screwcaps and subsequently not knowing producers have dumped wines because you didn't realize TCA can come from barrels.

[Mahmoud Ali]

Well, this is what I originally posted:

Interesting. If TCA can originate in oak barrels, expensive French ones at that, then surely it would appear in screwcapped wines aged in oak. What gives?

In simple English, I referred to the original post as "Interesting". Good so far?

Now, in the article of the original post, Opus One claims that 10 of 150 barrels they received were TCA affected. The barrels were guaranteed to be taint free for three years but were found to be faulty six months after delivery. Got that?

In my second sentence I suggested that if TCA originates in barrels to such an extent (remember 10 of 150) than thre is a very real possibility that it will show up in screwcaped wines since many of these wine are subjected to brief periods in barrel before being bottled. This may be where I made my mistake since it is a leap of logic.

It is in the above context that I said "What gives?" since I have almost never heard of screwcapped wines being corked.

Oh, and in the intervening post I said: "I agree, TCA (and other taint inducing chemicals) may be found in barrels but I have always thought it rare and more often than not thought that contamination of barrels tends to be the result of external contamination."

I really hope you get it this time because it is getting tiring having to explain, ad nauseum, every single comment, observation, or opinion that I make or have.

On the other hand it may just be my bad English, poor writing or bonehead opinions, so mea culpa.

[Polymer]

Mahmoud,

Nothing you just wrote was something I didn't know in the first post...

Let me first start off by saying I thought you surely knew TCA could originate in barrels, even if it was uncommon. I also assumed you knew it could make it to a screwcap wine even though it was rare...so I mentioned all barrels because that was the only other possible inference I could get...that all barrels must have some TCA because surely you knew the other two...but really that was just one line, the rest of my post talks about how they can originate in barrels...and they can make it to screwcap wines..and producers will dump wine in barrels if they know there is TCA as it does happen.

Saying what you said was weirdly worded which was probably not the right term..simply, what you wrote and what I thought you knew didn't seem to match.

[Mahmoud Ali]

It's okay Polymer, as I said, poor writing, bad english, bonehead opinions.

Merry Christmnas.

PS: Hopefully you're okay with this, and if not please consider that it is late at night at my end and I am drinking 15 year old Glen Grant at cask strength.