And then there was cork

Kudos to the Marchand and Burch crew for sealing their white Burgs under screwcap. A 2009 Meursault was splendid on Saturday. Rich, ripe, detailed and fresh. Yesterday a 2010 Chablis was loaded with citrus fruit and fresh as a trout. A 2013 Wendouree Shiraz Malbec sealed under screwcap was fresh, punchy and vibrant with such delicious fruits. It offers plenty of enjoyment now but will be brilliant in 20. A 2006 Wynns John Riddoch is also under screwcap and just softening, taking on some earthy development and possessing love fresh briary fruit flavours. Then there was Penfolds 2005 RWT. Caramel and chocolate and as flat as a biscuit. Purchased on release and stored properly the cork had failed in its job as a viable seal.

I want to say something here…wait, I AM saying something here.

I bought three or four Penfolds St Henri 2005 & 2006 bottles from a local shop at 33% off 2008 prices last year. I was then shown that they had one bottle of 2005 Penfolds RWT as well - 33% off an old price as well.

The wines were all opened shortly afterwards (Christmas season of 2014). Every St Henri was a beautiful bottle.

I had to dump the RWT down the drain.

So, is this a coincidence? Were inferior corks used on certain 2005 Penfolds wines? Is this just another case of cork’s vulnerability to failure?

Agreed. I’d love to have the option to buy more white Burgs under screwcap Jeremy. It’s great that there are people like Pacal Marchand willing to offer Burgundy under screwcap. When I visited him in November I had a look at his bottling line which can accommodate both cork and screwcap closures. Obviously I’m not an expert but I would expect the cost to have the ability to use screwcap isn’t astronomical. The equipment definitely didn’t look incredibly complex or expensive. Marchand and Burch also seal their red Burgs under screwcap as well. I’ve had good bottles of both their Gevrey Chambertin and Vosne Romanée villages with screwcap closures.

I was chatting with Gregory Patriat from JC Boisset about this when I was in Burgundy as well. He reckons he bottled some red Burgundy in the mid 2000’s under screwcap (IIRC it was 2005). It wasn’t destined for export to Australia and despite being quite a nice drop (according to Gregory) it took years for the to fully sell the vintage.

We antipodeans need no convincing that screwcap should replace cork ASAP, and if the maitre de chai at d’Yquem is also convinced, there may be a tiny spark of hope for the future. But it’s a long way off, if ever. Like premox, if their wallets aren’t really affected by it, no need to change.

Quoted from Australian Financial Review - 2015 article by Tim White interviewing Sandrine Garbay, the cellar master at Chateau d’Yquem.

… I venture the view that the only occasions I’ve smelled mould in Yquem is when they’ve been cork-affected and, appropriately enough, the '96 in our little Yquem tasting – the other wines being the soon-to-be shipped '13 and the 2005 – is corky. It gets worse as the wine sits in the glass.

They’ve done a lot of work at Yquem on closures and have even trialled the pharmacological-looking synthetic closure Ardea, which prompted a few interesting conversations with LVMH board members, apparently.

And screw cap?

“Oh I’m convinced,” Sandrine says, “but the market?…”

I guess someone ‘big’ needs to make a real statement and bottle entirely with screwcaps. Otherwise they’ll all be waiting to see what the other does.

Don,

What really has to happen here is what happened in Australia - the screw cap companies put winemakers out front of marketing campaigns explaining WHY they were switching. It wouldn’t be tough - but it would cost some $$$ - and most companies in the US that sell screwcaps also sell natural cork, so perhaps they don’t have the incentive to do so?!?

I was thinking along the lines of a famous Chateau going the screwcap route.

I can see the problem re: incentives.

Labour could say all current vintages are going under screw cap. Nobody will know for 15 years if they are telling the truth.

So the only way perceptions will change is if a ‘renowned’ French producer goes under screw cap? Interesting . . .
You’d think that those that have followed the Aussies and Plumpjack over here, for instance, would have seen ‘positive results’, but alas, sometimes ‘tradition’ is blind