One I haven’t heard before although I don’t pay as much attention as I used to so maybe this is old news. My personal experience is that I had a bunch of ‘03/‘04 D’Auvenay under wax that didn’t make it to middle age, but I can see an argument that those vintages weren’t for the long haul anyway so are perhaps not the right test.
https://www.frw.co.uk/editorial/people/solving-premox-problem-olivier-lamy?utm_campaign=Brand%20–%20other%20communications&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=222013076&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9FyvaY0bePY7FakXdtERhJPPL84qwciQTem9Neskk1P7ssH7BPhwLFoPMstx7qKVZqN5OOlI24KQtWos8SS9LNwcWhXe_LHIAIXyYwC4ZZ6LF88PI&utm_content=221946742&utm_source=hs_email
This assumes corks are responsible for premox.
That leaves a lot of other possibilities out.
And, in the absence of proof that it is always the corks, I am unconvinced.
Best, Jim
Actually, if you read it, you will see that it is predicated on a theory that there are multiple causes of premox, not just the cork.
Alex
Alex,
I did read the article and I agree that Lamy refers to other possible factors but he comes back to closures as the way to “bandage” the wine.
And while he feels that wax capsules, Diam, etc. are effective ways to do that, I don’t think that alone will eliminate a problem whose causes have yet to be determined. Sort of the reverse of closing the barn door after the horse escapes.
1 Like
Well, the horse is either in or outside of the barn. It’s binary. With premox, if you could reduce the incidence that would be pretty good. Maybe you don’t have to know the exact cause. A explanation and solution would be great. A reduction in the incidence would be a welcome interim step. That seems to be what Lamy is trying to achieve.
Cork appears a necessary but not sufficient condition. The last thread about this, nobody was able to report experiencing a premoxed Diam or screwcapped wine, including from producers who had abysmal premox records before switching (and presumably leaving the rest of their processes basically the same).
I would think the chemists can give a pretty easy answer to the question of how oxygen-permeable wax is. I wouldn’t want to depend on it, though. Wax chips off, etc. Why not just use Diams, with a proven track record?
Lamy does use Diams.