Cabbage

As you might imagine, wine with pungent cabbage notes is not generally what the winemaker intended. This note can be identified as a tangy flavour or aroma, often calling to mind over-stewed school meals.

Stewed or rotten cabbage aromas could be a sign of a problem with reduction in red or white wines, which is caused by a lack of oxygen in production. This can create smelly chemical compounds called mercaptans. If you come across a wine affected in this way, it may be possible to improve it simply by pouring the wine into a decanter or jug to aerate it for 15-20 minutes; also try dropping in an old copper penny (pre-1992 in the UK) and giving it a good swirl – the copper can react with the mercaptans to dissipate unpleasant odours. However, this is by no means a sure cure.

Other mercaptan indicators include whiffs of garlic, rotten eggs, burnt rubber and struck matches. If subtle and balanced correctly, some reductive characteristics can be desirable in wine. ‘The struck-match character associated with some barrel-fermented Chardonnays or Semillon-Sauvignon blends is a reductive one, as are the gunflint aromas of many Sauvignon Blancs,’ writes Natasha Hughes MW in her Decanter guide to common wine flaws and faults ( www.decanter.com/wine-flaws)