'Corked' or Mis-corked?

[pgup]

I received a completely sealed French, 1998 Bordeaux - Chateau Saint-Sulpice as a gift. When I uncorked it, noticed the cork was from 1999. Have you ever heard the next year's cork being used from this winery? Also, the cork had a vinegary smell (not corked) and quite possibly not maintained in contact with the wine. Should I be concerned with the wine distributors storage methods?

[Innkeeper]

Hi Pgup, and welcome to the Wine Board. You didn't mention how the wine tasted or if it was tainted. If it was OK, my guess is that all is AOK. The vintage of a wine is the year of harvest. In the Northern Hemisphere wine that is harvested one year, is usually bottled the next. As far as the vinegary smell to the cork, I find that common when the perfectly good wine interacts with the cork. This is the very reason why you should not smell a cork in a restaurant when it is presented to you. You should just examine it with your eyes.