The cork versus screwcap debate gets most contentious when talking about how red wine will age when sealed under one closure versus the other. So it was a rare treat to be invited to attend a seminar hosted by Hogue Cellars to taste five bottles of 2003 Hogue Genesis Merlot, each sealed under a different closure. How, at 8 years of age, would each red wine fare? (Read my
previous post to see how Hogue's screwcap-sealed Riesling performed starting with the 2004 vintage.)
After sampling the red wine in glasses A-E we found out what kind of closure was used to seal the bottle:
- A: Saranex* screwcap (with nitrogen dosing)
- B: Saranex screwap (no nitrogen dosing)
- C: Synthetic cork (low oxygen ingress)
- D: Natural cork
- E: Synthetic cork (moderate oxygen ingress)
*Saranex is a barrier film that is more oxygen-permeable than a tin liner.
My favorite? The Merlot in D, sealed with a natural cork. As Co Dinn, Director of Winemaking for The Hogue Cellars, stated, it showed "how well cork can do when you get a good one." Even though we were discussing Hogue's shift to 100% screwcap closures with their 2009 vintage, this was not an exercise in cork-bashing and Co's respectful attitude and thoughtful critique of a variety of closures was much appreciated.
My least favorite was the Merlot in Glass A. It just tasted flat. Which seemed to confirm Hogue's decision not put any nitrogen in the headspace (area between wine and closure). The red wine needs that extra oxygen for development of secondary characteristics over time. As far as B, C, and E, they all had qualities I enjoyed and good balance between tannin and fruit; D and A just happened to stand out for reasons good and not-so-good, respectively.
Rather than looking at this issue as a battle between cork and screwcap, I found myself most intrigued about the research that Hogue did into finding the right screwcap and accounting for variables (such as sulfur level, addition or omission of nitrogen, and measuring oxygen ingress) to fine-tune the process to enable a red wine to age properly. If you really want to nerd out, there is much more information about
Hogue's screwcap study. (Including spider graphs! Which just sound cool.)
So how do you feel about putting reds sealed with a screwcap in your cellar?
