I recently opened a bottle of 1998 CA Cab. I decanted it for about 6 hours and when I returned home from work it had the strongest acetone smell but still tasted fine. The cork was in good shape and the storage history was fine. I opened up another bottle of the same wine and it had a hint of acetone but it was not as strong and also tasted fine. Just for kicks I kept the strong smelling one in the decanter for another 24 hours and now tonight the acetone is not present and the wine continues to taste very good. Anyone have an explanation for this?

Joe

The wine is flawed by to much VA (volatile acidity)

For us non-science people, that's nail polish remover.

was this wine a behrens and hitchcock?

It's probably less likely to be acetone as acetaldehyde.
Alcohol (ethanol) has the chemical structure CH3CH2OH
Vinegar (acetic or ethanoic acid) has the structure CH3COOH.
Vinegar and alcohol can combine to produce acetaldehyde and water.
I'm not sure how volatile it is, but as I recall it forms an equilibrium,
so by decanting you might have affected the equilibrium.

Acetone has three carbon atoms. I'm not sure how it would get
produced in wine without there being some methanol present,
but then it's been 20 years since I studied any organic chemistry.

David,

Tell us what wine it was. It isn't going to make anyone not go out and buy the stuff. On the contrary probably several of us will want to open bottles we have and compare it with your thoughts. It is a great learning opportunity.

After everybody opens their bottles they'll all want to go out and buy some more .

When combined, ethanol and acetic acid form ethyl acetate.

Ketones such as acetone can be formed in minute quantities during fermentation, particularly if the temperature gets too high.

Getting back to the topic, since humans can detect acetone at the ppm level, the aroma probably was acetone. However, since acetone is extremely volatile, the tiny amount in the wine probably vaporized over the course of 24 hours.

Mark

i have this acetone/nail polish present in a bottle of pinot i opened last night but it didn't tatse "right" from the beginning and is still present. can i take it back to the store? it's undrinkable.

thanks. i think i am looking for a name of the flaw, so i can describe correctly what the problem is...volatile acidity? this is a first for me.

As Mark explains above - the problem started with VA - too much acetic acid. It then went further, developing ethyl acetate which gives you the stinking nose. VA is definitely recognized as a flaw, so I would start there.

Personally I'd just chalk it up to a bad bottle and write off the loss.

I agree Jones. That's what you and I do but we're nuts.

If the bottle is mostly full shove the cork into it and take it back. Unless you purchased it years ago I'm sure the store will replace it for you.

You should let us know if you have a "happy ending" or not.

"Happy ending"

yes tell them the VA is up too high