Anyone ever had bad or possibly fake NV Champagne?
Ordered this Ruinart on GoPuff and off the bat it tasted and smelled like barnyard / chemicals. Have had this champagne dozens of times and it felt off. Got another bottle from a different provider (from a licensed / transparent liquor store) that tasted and smelled like it always does – the color was notably different, and one of the bottles has dots in the front while the other has it in the back (small detail but would imagine a mass production has that consistent).
Was this just an off bottle or was it a fake?
by Wild-Progress5122
9 Comments
Its a non vintage bottle…why do you think it would be no variation?
The party line is that there’s not enough money in counterfeiting wines at that price point to make it worth doing, but every rule has its exceptions.
A more likely prospect is that this wine was just a bad bottle, or not stored properly. Your barnyard odor sounds like brett.
If you’re talking about the dots on the glass, those are to identify the bottle mold from the manufacturer, doesn’t correspond to the producer or the wine.
The color variation could be a few things, primarily if the wine was stored incorrectly, it could be more advanced or oxidized which is why it’s darker.
Or it could simply be that it’s a different disgorgement.
Is there a disgorgement lot code etched on the bottles? Usually a number starting with an L, etched in the bottle.
It’s a clear glass bottle, the most likely explanation is light-strike. There’s a good chance this bottle was out on display or was otherwise affected by light/heat.
Could be light strike given it’s a clear bottle. That would account for the colour and aroma.
Could be a storage issue – that barnyard smell can be an early sign of refermentation, and the darker colour does suggest oxidation (which can be caused by higher storage temps).
Hard to say definitively based on the info you’ve given, but either way you should mention it to gopuff.
Who’s bothering to fake this? More likely, this sat out in hot weather in a pallet or went through hell in transport. GoPuff owns BevMo, their supply is gonna be basically direct or via a brand’s main distributor.
I briefly worked at GoPuff in a management position in 2020. While we did not sell wine due to state regulations, I can assure you that the storage conditions in the MFCs (warehouses) were not ideal for wine.
I would be surprised if much has changed, even in markets with a half way decent selection. The MFC employees are also definitely not educated on proper wine storage, light strike, etc. I do not think that GoPuff would buy fake wine – they have a large supply chain team.
I would be willing to bet your wine was damaged by improper storage. As a former employee, I would personally not buy wine from GoPuff under any circumstances.
I rarely buy clear bottled wine unless is wrapped or in box.