Frozen in Time: the interplay of sulfur levels and the use of Diam corks

Correct! A lot of comparative tasting over the last few years leads me to conclude that the “taste” imputed to Diam, and the glacial evolution of certain wines bottled under Diam, is just a result of bottling with excessively high free and total SO2 for that closure. I think that a sulfate-derived soapiness shows for totals in excess of 100 ppm, for whatever reason, much more pronouncedly under Diam than under natural cork. And you will still have noticeable free SO2 after 5+ years under Diam 30 if you bottle around 25 ppm free with minimal dissolved oxygen at bottling. I have provisionally concluded that for optimal showing in the 5 years after bottling the target should really be around 15-20 rather than 20-25 ppm free. (Of course, this likely varies in function of wine pH so these comments are based on Chardonnay in Burgundy between pH 3.05 - pH 3.25, which constitutes the bulk of my experience with this matter).

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