Slightly corked?

When the wines were opened at the Silver Oak 6 vintage dinner, a couple of corks disintegrated. The 2000 wine tasted fine, but there was a hint of cork taint in the 2002, which seem to dissipate  in the glass. Now cork taint is due to fungal infection and the subsequent production of compounds like 2,4,6 trichloroanisole (TCA) which then get dissolved into the wine. I warned my fellow tasters and it was obvious their ability to detect it was variable. The problem was that the taint also seems to wax and wane and that makes things confusing for the 2002, which though slightly corked was nevertheless abounding in fruit balanced by acid and wood. (That is also confusing because corked wines should be depleted in fruit and other desirable aromas).

The problem with the 2000 is that the merest hint of cork would occasionally and fleeting appear in the glass, whilst the wine had stayed "pretty" all along. As the bottle was consumed, there seemed more and more glimpses of the cork gremlin. Nevertheless, the 2000 was at its worst never up to the level of the 2002.

The added complication was that when we tasted the leftovers the next day, neither wines showed any hint of cork taint at all. Was it a rapidly dissipating cork taint, or were we too hasty to call the two wines corked?