TN: Cork vs. Screw Cap at 14 years: PlumpJack Reserve Cabernet

[David_M]

@Brian Thorne

After all of the stelvin-sealed Behrens and Hitchcock wines that turned to plonk in such rapid fashion, I will not purchase any wines that use a stelvin closure.

My only experience with a synthetic B and H was a 2000 Beckstoffer merlot a couple months ago, the wine was very youthful. In fact I have never had more of a problem removing a cork out of a bottle, this boy was sealed tight.

[Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m]

@David M.

@Brian Thorne

After all of the stelvin-sealed Behrens and Hitchcock wines that turned to plonk in such rapid fashion, I will not purchase any wines that use a stelvin closure.

My only experience with a synthetic B and H was a 2000 Beckstoffer merlot a couple months ago, the wine was very youthful. In fact I have never had more of a problem removing a cork out of a bottle, this boy was sealed tight.

perhaps a little port tongs action next time … hmmmmm?

[Mike_Miller]

Interesting. 14 years is a significant length of time. If they can make it to 25 or 30, I think some higher end Burgundy and Bordeaux producers might take notice.

[Ed_Murray]

I’m not surprised the '97 Whitehall Lane won the day - that’s a heckuva wine.

[Richard_Jennings]

@Graeme Gee

Let me save us all some time. Now, when we read these comparative tastings where there’s an even split of people preferring the screwcap v cork, or it’s 60/40 one way or the other, or even, god forbid, there’s universal approval of the screwcapped wine, we have to bear a few things in mind.

1. This is not a scientific test. There needs to be hundreds of bottles opened and measured, chemically analysed, compared, and peer-reviewed before any conclusions can be drawn.
2. All mere tasting methodologies are flawed if you’re not measuring sulphur by scientific analysis.
3. If the screwcapped wines tasted any good it’s only because you consumed a lethal dose of copper cyanide. Been nice knowing you.
4. The wine isn’t 45 Mouton or 78 La Tache so what’s the point?
5. Just because it appears that screwcaps work in practice doesn’t mean they work in theory.
6. Current rates of ‘cork taint’ - which were all overstated in tha past, and often weren’t due to cork anyway - have now been reduced to 0.000001% so we should stick with the things that we know already work.

cheers,
GG

Graeme,
I’ve enjoyed your very dry sense of humor in other posts. In this one, I’m having a little trouble sorting out what, if anything, is meant to be dry humor. #4 I get, and #5 is pretty funny. Can you tell us more, though, about #3 and copper cyanide in screw capped wines? Also, where are you seeing #6? I sure continue to find cork taint on newer offerings at a lot higher rate than virtually zilch (i.e., still about one in 12-15 bottles), so I’d love to see who came up with that statistic. Or did the study just attribute TCA in newer bottles to sources other than the cork?

[Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m]

Richard,
I think Graeme’s post is a satirical (read: exagerated) take on the many arguments the pro-cork crowd often proffers.

[M_Sai]

@Brian G r a f s t r o m

…many arguments the pro-cork crowd often proffers.

Yeah, but you gotta hand it to their marketing team: http://bit.ly/ec1LH4

Taking advantage of an in-vogue movement to convince an influential group which is largely ignorant on the subject to promote your cause. Genius!

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Cheers!
Mike

[Graeme_Gee]

Richard,
Brian is on to me.
But if you find empty hours in your life with nothing to do, you might revisit this thread:

The environmental argument: corks vs. screwcaps

which pretty well identifies, explores, thrashes to death, then cremates most of the issues.
But I warn you, you’ll come away realising that the screwcapped Plumpjack was no good after all…
cheers,
GG

[Richard_Jennings]

@Graeme Gee

Richard,
Brian is on to me.
But if you find empty hours in your life with nothing to do, you might revisit this thread:
http://www.wineberserkers.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=27016
which pretty well identifies, explores, thrashes to death, then cremates most of the issues.
But I warn you, you’ll come away realising that the screwcapped Plumpjack was no good after all…
cheers,
GG

Graeme,

You’re a very clever and witty guy. I’m going to have to be even more on the lookout for your posts.

–Richard