I like old things. Old ideas. Old books. Old wines. I guess that's part
of the reason I'm a conservative. Yet, the intelligent conservative
combines a disposition to preserve with an ability to reform. And so we
come to the question of closures for wine. For generations our
ancestors used cork to close wine bottles, and they were wise to do so.
Indeed, cork is a nearly perfect closure for wine. It is mostly impe
meable, yet apparently allows just enough minute amounts of air into
the bottle for the wine to evolve with age. And cork lends a certain
romance to the otherwise mudane process of opening a bottle, as anyone
who has popped a champagne cork knows. (For real romance, of course,
port tongs can't be beat.) Yet, sometimes change is necessary. When it
comes to wine closures, change has no greater advocate than the Wine
Spectator's James Laube, who recently observed:
I briefed [an acquaintance] on how corks tainted by 2,4,6 trichloranisole (aka TCA) ruined otherwise fine wines by imparting a musty character. ... To drive the point home, I said that there are days when 15 percent of the wines we taste in our Napa office are flawed and undrinkable, the result of bad corks. ...
Most wine drinkers are aware of the hassles caused by corks. Those who say they?ve never tasted a ?corky,? or spoiled, wine are undoubtedly mistaken. They just didn?t know it, perhaps because they?re not sensitive to the taint. Those who haven?t lost a good, old, cellared bottle to a crumbled cork, well, that too is hard to imagine. I can only say their time is coming.I must agree. Crumbling corks are a hassle (albeit one that can be dealt with by decanting the wine through an unbleached coffee filter), while cork taint is an all too often present curse. The answer? I hate to say it, but I am persuaded that the answer is the Stelvin screw cap. Many fine California and Australia wineries are now experimenting with the Stelvin closure. In my experience, wines capped with screw tops taste just as good as those closed with corks and, of course, loads better than those closed with tainted corks. But will wines capped with screw tops age as well? According to the Spectator, Bordeaux and Burgundy wineries are starting to conclude that they can:
Burgundy n‚gociant Jean- Claude Boisset is releasing small amounts of several bottles from the 2003 vintage topped with screw caps, including premier cru Santenay Grand Clos Rousseau, Chambolle-Musigny and Gevrey-Chambertin Villages. ... "We feel fairly confident after the research we've done that the Stelvin will work nicely," said Jean-Charles Boisset, the founder's son. Boisset said the decision to test the Stelvin was sparked by a tasting of a 1966 Mercurey that was closed by screw cap....So the next time you see a $20 bottle of wine topped by a screw cap, don't assume you're being ripped off. As Laube opined:
I?ve long advocated twist-offs, and when I?m shopping I?ve found myself gravitating toward them. One reason is that I?m assured the wine won?t be corked. Another is that I want to taste how fresh the wine is. I also want to support those who are taking an important leadership role for the industry and consumers.Me too.
