Reconditioned bottles not listed on website

[larry_schaffer]

@William_Kelley

After around 25 years, ullage increases, bottle variation goes up, and wines become more sensitive to transit. The less you move them, the better your milage will be, and of course many wines still show brilliantly. But the physical limitations of the closure are what they are.

Of course this is a pretty broad generalization right? Kind of like it is necessary to replant vineyards every X number of years because they become less productive . . .

Too many variables IMHO to give a specific time frame - but obviously YMMV.

Cheers

[William_Kelley]

If you want to successfully recork, you had better do it before the ullage is low and the cork is liable to crumble. So the estimate is conservative, and the recorking in a sense anticipatory, yes.

[Chris_Seiber]

This is a good topic. I remember from way back Mark Squires board era that many experienced collectors felt like reconditioned bottles tended to perform worse than bottles left in their original state. Which was surprising and a bit counterintuitive, but it seemed like many people had arrived at that conclusion.

I am curious if the technology or methods may have improved such that results are better today.

I am also very curious how one would know in seeing a bottle, buying one at a restaurant, or buying one at retail or online auction, whether a bottle has been reconditioned.

[William_Kelley]

I think it’s often done poorly… But I have had 100+ year old bottles that had been reconditioned, sometimes multiple times, that were so good it’s hard to imagine them being any better.

It is also clear, if you read old books on wine drinking (most obviously and easily Saintsbury), that we expect advantageously to age wines longer than people did 100 years ago. The idea of making a wine that, if not actually at its peak is at least actively enjoyable within the lifespan of its primary closure seems not unreasonable as an ambition for a winemaker.

[Karl_K]

By logic this means time for reconditioning 00 Bordeaux only a few years out.

[JulianD]

@William_Kelley

But the elasticity of a cork can be expected to last for only around 25 years, which is why top châteaux and big houses such as Bouchard have typically recorked their stocks around the 25-year point. It’s an art in itself that not all have mastered.

Just to clarify, this is natural corks only, right? (don’t know if DIAM etc have been around 25 years?)

[William_Kelley]

yeah

[Jeff_Leve]

FWIW, generally speaking, most chateaux recork a lot of their bottles every 30 years, give or take.

That being said, if the corks hold, I’ve found that older wines with good ullage, and original corks are usually better than recorked bottles.

[NateK]

I reached out to the shop and they took care of me 100%.

[Chris.M]

I feel like I just read a short and intense novel.