Bordeaux second growth puts wine under screwcap January 19, 2007
Oliver Styles
A Bordeaux second growth chateau will be bottling wine under screwcap, it was revealed today.
UK wine merchant Bibendum said 12,000 bottles of Les Tourelles de Longueville, the second wine of Paulliac chateau Pichon-Longueville, will be bottled with the closure.
The Deluxe Stelvin-topped wines are destined for British restaurants and bars where Bibendum distributes Les Tourelles exclusively to the UK on-trade.
The wines will be officially released on 1 April but are available now. The first wines under the new closure will be from the 2004 vintage.
The move follows pressure by Bibendum on the producers and distributors of Pichon-Longueville to trial screwcap.
'The idea is to be innovative and interesting,' said Bibendum wine buyer Ian Muggoch. 'Screwcap is delivering in terms of quality and highlights the crisp, pure fruit sides of red wine.'
However, the announcement comes at a time of negative press for screwcap, with UK experts claiming at least one bottle in 50 could be tainted with a 'rotten egg' smell of sulphur.
This was downplayed by Muggoch who said it was a quality issue and 'all down to how the wines are made'.
Bibendum communications manager Ben Smith underlined that sales of Les Tourelles to wine merchants, high street shops and private customers would continue to be bottled with cork.
Have your say... To post your comment on this story, email us at news@decanter.com, making sure the relevant headline is in the subject field
What took them so long?
Anthony Rose, London, UK
I think this is crazy! A second growth going under a metal cap. They are ruining the whole charisma and concept of wine.
Matthew Grech, Malta
The Editor and the readers of Decanter know of my opposition to screw caps which is based upon the complete lack of independent and published research into the possibility that wine will be contaminated by aluminium coming from the screw cap. It has recently come to my notice that wines bottled under screw cap are not being advertised as such on restaurant wine lists as such removing the element of choice in this matter. I trust that Bibendum will also take a leading position in ensuring that wines bottled under screw cap will be advertised as such on their restaurant wine lists?
Dr Chris Exley, Keele University, UK
I recently had an Austrian wine with the new glass stopper. So much more elegant than screwcap. Lets hope more producers use them for fine wines!
Jon van der Walt
I am surprised it has taken this long for them to catch on.
In Australia (and NZ) now there is hardly one white wine with a cork and because wineries are exceptionally happy with these results, most 2006 reds will now be under screwcap. (bottles using cork are just for export)
Screwcaps keep the wine fresher, do not have any aluminium in contact with the wine or the opening of the bottle (there is an inner plastic liner) and should permit lower uses of preservative having to be added.
Sure, cork might have a charm that old-school wine drinkers don't want to part with, but it is the wine that one buys the bottle for.
I have compared the same (white) wine bottled using screwcap and cork - a 2004 Chardonnay. The difference after 2 years were clear and amazing - better tasting, fresher wine comes from the screwcap and no bottle variation. The odd bottle with oxidation due to a cap not screwed on tightly is far less than the percentage of those with taint from cork.
Screwcap means longevity of freshness and consistency from bottle to bottle. Bye bye cork!
Restaurant Wine lists indicating bottles with screwcap is a good idea for Europeans, because they can then experience a fresher wine and will have the opportunity to compare, and enjoy.
K.Bronley, Australia
Let it be known that this is terrific news that someone in the gold standard of all winedom finally did something new and different! I applaud them for taking on a zero defect closure. Someone had to do it and I am certain that they will benefit from it over the long run. Although many of your readers and long time wine consumers may disagree, this is a bold and smart move on their part. Cheers!
Tim McDonald
Although your header is factually and literally true, the implication is that the grand vin of the estate is being put under screwcap, which the article makes quite clear is not the case. Would it not have been more accurate and less sensationalistic to put it that "Something New: Bordeaux 2ième Cru Bottles Second Wine under Screwcap," or the like?
And, by the way, my Latin being old and corrupt, doesn't Bibendum actually mean Drunk? Are we to come to those establishments to experience inebriation?
John Trombley, Detroit, USA
r.e. Dr Chris Exley's comment on this story:
Perhaps Dr Exley isn't aware that with screwcaps there is no aluminium in contact with the wine. Contact is with the lining material of the cap, which is either saranex (for saranex-only liners) or PVDC (which the metal liners are coated with). These lining matrials have been shown to maintain their integrity over many years.
Jamie Goode, wineanorak.com, UK
Judging by the number of soft drink bottles with screwcap tops in supermarkets that have damaged by the screwcap being bashed on its side and dented, I think this will be a disaster. It only takes a small knock on the side of the screwcap top to dent it in such a way that leaves it no longer airtight.
John Winfield, (Happy Decanter reader)
Register on decanter.com absolutely free for news alerts delivered direct to your email inbox, and our fortnightly newsletter with advance notice of what’s coming up in Decanter magazine, offers, competitions and more.
PLUS registration is a one-stop shop for the Decanter magazine Archive and Decanter Fine Wine Tracker.
What took them so long?
