Beware brett

If premature oxidation is an issue for white wines, brettanomyces (brett for short) is the silent assassin of red wines. It is a form of yeast spoilage which takes two forms, 4EP and 4EG. The first is responsible for animal/sweaty saddle/wet bandaid characters that are immediately obvious in the bouquet, and the second has a spicy, smoky character that is much less objectionable. Brett flourishes in a dirty environment with exposure to air, but it can increase in bottle (anaerobically), the infection varying between bottles. It also can appear in white wine. Australian winemakers tend to recognise brett at very low levels, the English trade, and French winemakers are often insensitive to it. Chatonnet is said to have berated them thus: ‘If you want all of your wines to taste the same, don’t worry about brettanomyces.’