Those Burgundies I bought are sealed with Diam. . . Perhaps I should buy some more. . .
I know in theory I can claim a refund on a cork tainted wine. I also know that more often than not, I can't be bothered. Additionally I plan to cellar some of these wines for 10-20 years, which makes the exercise of seeking redress problematic. If I buy $1000 dollars of wine sealed with cork, I am mentally prepared, but annoyed at the possibility that I will lose $100. (Assuming the risk of taint is 10%).
Taking the analogy further; when you are offered a bond, which has a higher chance of default, you are rewarded with a higher yield. You are being warned and rewarded for taking a risk. The yield on Greek versus US bonds being demonstrative of this. Given the risk of default with a cork sealed wine, when will consumers be warned that the bottle is sealed with a closure prone to taint and when will they be offered a discount for taking the risk. . .
With that in mind, and with apologies to Moody's and S&P, here is my suggested rating for closures, based on my experience of their risk of failure.
- Diam AAA
- Screwcap AA+
- Vinoloc AA+
- Natural Cork BBB-
BBB- The closure has an ADEQUATE capacity to meet its hermetic commitments, but is prone to fail 5-10% of the time. The ability to seek redress depending on the motivation of both parties.
12 comments:
Brilliant post Edward.
You have captured he crux of both for and against closures of all types without needlessly attacking one over the others.
Far too many closure related posts seek to paint those of the opposing view as pariahs.
Well done for exposing the rationale behind closure choice, and especially well done for using an example that a lot of those who can actually afford premium wine will understand all too well.
Sam
Love it Edward!
To carry the bond analogy further, duration risk is also very pertinent.
It would indeed be nice if wineries compensated us for the risk buying their BBB wine.
Interestingly, why do you rate Diam higher than screwcap? Have you had more negative experiences with screwcaps?
Sam,
Thanks for the kind words. I was going to stop at the first sentence, about the wines being sealed in Diam, but I wanted to capture and express some of the thoughts and emotions I had when I first discovered the wine in question was actually sealed with Diam rather than cork (as I had expected). That sigh of relief which tells me that I no longer trust cork - even though most of the time - it is perfectly adequate.
Red,
I did think about making all three 'alternate' closures AAA, but I've not had enough reds under vinolok and I though I'm perfectly happy buying a fine wine (red and especially white) under stelvin the seal can be damaged by a well placed dent. I've had one bottle out of hundred and hundred where this was the case.
Well thought, well constructed and well said!
...and it's not 04:13 am in NZ
I've heard some people doubt the really long-term abilities of Diam, with a view that it might be subject to shrinkage (I cannot recall specifically where I read/heard this). I'm not sure if that's true. I need to find some more information.
I've also been worried about knocks to screwcaps, but so far have had no failures that I'm aware of. I heard that the first generation were not so strong and you could only stack two lots of boxes on them vertically, but you can safely do three with the new generation. I still pack them on their sides when I take them to off-site storage just to be sure, risk manager that I am!!
MichaelC
Lorraine,
Thank you. I like the idea that people post comments and read @ 4am!
Michael,
I think the strongest remaining argument for natural cork is that it has been used for hundreds of years, and of the closures in use, it is the one with the oldest examples. It is of course the closure that has also demonstrated it's ability to fail and taint.
By virtue of their newness, there will remain a question mark over screwcap and Diam, until the first examples reach a sufficient age. Being someone who likes to have direct evidence, the oldest reds I have under screwcap are from 2001 (Voyager Cabernet and also Cullen Diana Madeline) I'm planning on waiting another decade on the Cullen and have periodically tried the Voyager with no concerns.
The oldest Diam sealed wines I've tried have are 6-7 years old. I guess part of my confidence has been the absence of failure and an observation on their function; I've never seen a Diam where the wine has stained the sides, and I can never completely push a removed Diam back into the bottle. . . Still your comment makes me think of a diagram in Nassim Taleb's book the Black Swan, where the turkey grows each day for 999 days, then suddenly has it's head cut off on the 1000th. . .
The oldest screwcapped red I've had is Meerea Park Alexander Munro Shiraz 2003. I had one last weekend and I see no issues with how it's evolving. It will last a long time.
I'm finding with whites, and Rieslings and Hunter Semillon in paerticular, that they are evolving more or less like I'd expect an example under a good cork to evolve. Screwcap has been the saviour of Hunter Semillon. One would often get up to even 30-40% cork failure in some forms with older wines. Even if drinkable, you still new it had been under cork for some reason. Think Mount Pleasant! I would not think of cellaring any Australian white under cork. Sadly one doesn't have that choice with some of my other favourite white wines.
I suppose we will have more empirical data in due course.
MichaelC
Sorry for the awful spelling Edward.
MichaelC
Personally I'd swap the two top ratings on the basis of my tastings, purely due to a 'glue' character I've seen in a few Diam sealed wines.
Oh and I think that Diam Sparkling corks are evil (my arthritic hands struggle with them).
Michael and Andrew,
There can't be many drinkers left in the Southern hemisphere who think whites should be sealed with natural cork. Perhaps it is hard line, but there are very few local whites I'd be prepared to buy if they were not now sealed with Diam or Stelvin et al.
Agree entirely re the Mt Pleasant Elizabeth - A Case of this (sealed with cork) used to be a total lottery.
The situation with reds and stelvin seems less settled, though like Andrew - I'm comfortable.
Andrew, I don't think I've come across any gluey Diam sealed wines and I just can't picture you with old arthritic hands. . .
Ed - my hands are not old, but arthritic they definitely are (that's my obligatory illness, clean bill of health otherwise).
I've tasted a few Kooyong Chardonnay's that I thought looked particularly gluey, but again it could well just be a case of those particular wine.
Personally I'd take a really good cork over a Diam for long term cellaring and a screwcap over all of them...
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