Sorry @Jeremy_Holmes …
Screw caps have some issues in this test with Sarah Marsh…
Just one data point, but some good nuggets in here about mechanics of closures.
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Fascinating! Thanks 
Very interesting. Curious about buyer perception of each. Is the perception that diam/screwcap closures are used on lesser quality wine changing? Or is it very niche still (arguably as these studies are occurring now)
One data point?
So basically a knowledgeable and conscientious user of screw caps do well.
Why is this not surprising.
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This looks like the same tasting Jamie Goode did a write up about a few months ago, as the producers covered are identical.
A lot of high end Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is done under Diam (including all of ours) as well as a lot ot very high end white Burgundy.
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Paul Brajkovich remarked, “We have always used the SaranTin liner as this is the most effective and long-lasting seal. Our own trial with Saranex and other liners showed oxidative affects after only a few months in bottle, so we discarded any idea of using those quite early on. I think the library of wines we now have under the SaranTin liner proves that this was the right decision.”
Very interesting tidbit
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Olivier Lamy has bottled under several closures to be able to compare for himself his own wines’ evolution. I was fortunate enough to take part in one of those comparative tastings, some 10 vintages under different cork and diam products.
With some universality, Diam was the most reliable but seemed to block evolution. Cork was more variable, but our favorite older bottled were all under cork.
Screwcap wasn’t in the mix.
Fwiw.
In my experience, the Kumeu River single vineyard Chardonnays all show interesting, positive development under screw cap at 10 - 15 years of bottle age. The oldest I have had is 2006 and that was excellent a couple of years ago.
So I would say Michael Brajkovich (wine maker and brother) knows exactly what he is doing with screw caps with the wines
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I am finding this with regularity on 10yo bottles that should show something, but just don’t.
I am not finding that at all.
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Appreciate your perspective–know your cellar is overstuffed and deep.
I’ve had a handful of white burgs that seemed more frozen in time than developing secondary characteristics at 10ish years. Maybe that is still too young for white burg though…
It at least used to be young before premox.
There could absolutely be a problem of expectation, a bit like someone opening up a 10yo traditional nebbiolo wine and thinking it muted. With the variability of cork, we got used to varying degrees of advanced development, but with more precise closures (even with intentional oxygen ingress), there’s potentially a more regular closed period.
Time and more studies will help better understanding.
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A very astute point indeed - why it’s great when folks taste wines from these different closures blind ti not have the closure used affect their judgement.
I will say that I’ve been using the Saranex liner on my reds now for nearly 20 years and have not found them to allow too much oxygen in compared to the Saratin liner, which I use on my whites and roses.
I’ve chosen not to use saratin on reds for fear that it can lead to a higher incidence of reductive qualities.
Cheers
Paging Professor @RandallG…
If I am recalling/paraphrasing correctly, Randall has said that using screw closures requires some considerations on behalf of the winemaker. In other words, yes, it can create some reductive issues, but if the winemaker knows how to adjust for that, it’s not a “problem.”
Great food for thought and really appreciate the effort by Domaines and producers to spend this effort with trials.
In the wise words of longtime screwcap user Harry Peterson-Nedry of Ridgecrest and formerly Chehalem winery (paraphasing here) “screwcaps are not tolerant of flawed wines”
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Really enjoyed the article. Lot of champagne being bottle under DIAM, and it’s a real bitch when you catch a corked bottle of champagne so I support it. I also am not a big fan of oxidized champagnes, so think it’s generally a good move.
SaranTin sounds like a good call, as does DIAM, and the article goes to show that even with those closures, winemaking still has something to do with presentation given variations in SO2 and CO2 under the closures. Fascinating stuff.
I don’t know that there is any negative perception about DIAM, or at least I was unaware until seeing a couple of posts on this thread about preference for cork, which absolutely amazes me. I can’t tell you how much I hate opening high end wines and having a cork crumble on me, break, be tainted, be looser than it should be with an oxidized 30 year old wine.
I don’t mind screw cap, but there is a buyer perception that it’s for cheaper wines in part, I think, because it’s cheaper than good cork. You can’t necessarily know if you’re buying a wine bottled under cork v diam, but you damn well know if it’s screw cap v diam/cork.
That said, I would have no problem buying a high end wine under a SaranTin closure, and probably wouldn’t have had one for any screw cap, generally speaking, until reading this article which increased my skepticism of certain screw caps. Now I want to KNOW if I’m buying a SaranTin closure!
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