| Vincent |
As I read through lists of wine that are for sale or auction, I occasionally
run into the word "recorked," especially on some very old wines. But what
exactly does that mean? Do they replace the old cork with a new one? And is
that a safe thing to do? How do they prevent air from entering the bottle
during the "recorking" proccess?
Thanks in advance.
\/
|
|
|
| Dale Williams |
There are a couple of wineries - Penfolds and some Bdx 1st growths - that
offer recorking periodically with their older wines. They top off if
neccessary. I'm nsure, but it might be the wines are opened in a vacuum
enviroment (similar to oxygen free bottling lines).
Dale
Dale Williams
Drop "damnspam" to reply
|
|
|
| Bill Spohn |
>ines. They top off if
>neccessary. I'm nsure, but it might be the wines are opened in a vacuum
>enviroment
They generally just open, top off with either that vintage, if they have it, or
a more recent one if they don't, and whang a new cork in - nothing fancy.
Generally an unnecessary procedure in wines under a half century old.
|
|
|
| Michael Pronay |
wspohn4@aol.comnojunk (Bill Spohn) wrote:
> They generally just open, top off with either that vintage, if
> they have it, or a more recent one if they don't, and whang a
> new cork in - nothing fancy. Generally an unnecessary procedure
> in wines under a half century old.
Note that Michael Broadbent - the UK guy with probably the widest
experience in oldest, rarest and finest bottles - is against the
practice of recorking: He sais he *never* had a recorked bottle of
wines that was on par with the best bottles of this wine with
original corks.
M.
|
|
|
| Michael Pronay |
wspohn4@aol.comnojunk (Bill Spohn) wrote:
> They generally just open, top off with either that vintage, if
> they have it, or a more recent one if they don't, and whang a
> new cork in - nothing fancy. Generally an unnecessary procedure
> in wines under a half century old.
I have heard (but cannot give proof for the moment) that they also
give a dose of sulphur to prevent oxidation by aeration during the
procedure.
M.
|
|
|
| Bill Spohn |
> He sais he *never* had a recorked bottle of>wines that was on par with the
best bottles of this wine with
>original corks.
I don't think I have ever had a bottle that wasn't otherwise abused, where the
cork was disintegrating, and that goes back as far as 100 year old wines.
Remember that wonk that hung around here for awhile, who claimed you had to
recork every 20 years or something? Wonder what happened to him.
He's probably living happily with Rosaphilia somewhere........
|
|
|
| Cwdjrx _ |
In addition, I have seen a few old ports that have been recorked -
usually in the UK. Some 1908 Cockburn's that had been recorked by a wine
firm in the UK came up for auction several years ago, for example. The
saving grace for many of the really old wines from the 1800s, especially
vintage Madeira, is that they often were sealed with a heavy coat of
sealing wax over the neck rather than using a lead foil. This wax seal
can protect the wine long after the cork no longer can seal well, and
the seal can be patched with more sealing wax if necessary. Of course
many vintage Madeiras were kept in large glass demijohns for decades
before sealing in a bottle, so the cork often is considerably younger
than the wine inside the bottle.
My mailbox is always full to avoid spam. To contact me, erase
NOSPAM@webtv.net from my email address. Then add yz@yahoo.com . I do not
check this box every day, so post if you need a quick response.
|
|
|
| Bill |
Bill Spohn wrote:
>>He sais he *never* had a recorked bottle of>wines that was on par with the
> best bottles of this wine with
>>original corks.
>
> I don't think I have ever had a bottle that wasn't otherwise abused, where the
> cork was disintegrating, and that goes back as far as 100 year old wines.
> Remember that wonk that hung around here for awhile, who claimed you had to
> recork every 20 years or something? Wonder what happened to him.
> He's probably living happily with Rosaphilia somewhere........
Some 15 or so years ago, a 60 Minutes program was devoted totally to a Morley
Safer interview with Baron Phillipe and one of the highlights was his
personal cellar. They showed a guy recorking bottles and the Baron stated
that he thought 25 years was as long as a cork could be expected to last.
|
|
|
| Bill Spohn |
> They showed a guy recorking bottles and the Baron stated
>that he thought 25 years was as long as a cork could be expected to last.
He must have different cellar conditions (though I doubt it). I have lots of 30
year + wine with no cork problems.
I suppose if I had a corker on the payroll, I might decide to use him whether
or not it was really necessary...;-)
|
|
|
|
