A bad experience

[Fred]

I purchased a 1996 Louis Jadot Morgon recently and it tasted horrible -

Was this likely due to storage problems or was this wine simply meant to be drank younger?

[Thomas]

"Tasted horrible" is not much of a description, and could very well be a subjective judgment.

Can you describe what the wine tasted like, or what it was that you did not like about it?

A good Morgon certainly can last more than three years from vintage.

[Fred]

It tasted much like dirty vinegar - not the slightest hint of fruit, an acid bath for the taste buds

I should also mention that under the foil seal there was a greenish film over the surface of the cork, although the unexposed part of it seemed moist and intact. (I don't know the significance of this observation)

I guess my question (which seems to be answered by foodie) had been whether I simply purchased a bad bottle of a quality wine or made an error in choosing a wine past its drinkable age. I do believe that there was something not right with my particular bottle, since it was so vastly different from similar wines I have tasted in the past.

[Thomas]

Your description sounds like the wine turned, possibly because the cork was faulty and let too much oxygen into the bottle. Sometimes, minor holes in corks, or perhaps a messed up cork during bottling, could cause air in and leakage out -- the green stuff -- and then the wine turns to acetic acid.

You should have brought it back to the retailer.

Give the same wine another chance.

[Fred]

Thanks