The famous Californian wine estate Opus One has sued its barrique supplier Alain Fouquet for 470,000 dollars in damages because of the delivery of ten barrels that were contaminated with TCA. The sum is made up of 9,800 dollars for the ten barrels and the loss of the wine stored in them, which would have fetched a bottle price of around 140 dollars. In addition, there are the costs for the laboratory analysis of the TCA detection.
In 2016, Opus One had received the barrels along with 140 others. The tonnellery had given a three-year guarantee of TCA-free. In January 2017, an Opus One winemaker detected the TCA smell in one barrel. As a result, all 150 were examined and nine more were found, he said. The case will soon be heard in Napa County Superior Court.
(uka)