25 Sept 08 - Jeff Gordon Discusses the Advantages of Screw Caps over Corks

In a recent review in a Melbourne newspaper, Jeff Gordon discusses the advantages of screw cap lids over corks, and reviews Capel Vale's 2007 Debut Merlot. Exert below:

Last week I tasted about 50 wines (it's one of the pains of this job), and they were all under screw cap. No corked bottles, no oxidation, no excuses about taint, just the product as it was when sealed. This has been the way of white tastings for some years, but our reds, particularly those over $20, have been slow to take up the screw cap despite obvious consumer acceptance.

There is concern expressed by some that, as the screw cap captures the wine as it was when bottled, those that are designed to peak only after years in the bottle are at a disadvantage when opened early - as most are. In my experience, the wine initially tastes as it did when bottled, but exposure to air shows off the bottle development just as with cork. Of course, bad wine is bad wine, and the screw cap does remove the option of blaming external influence.

Coming out of these tastings, a few reds stood out. Capel Vale wines in Western Australia produces some excellent premium and ultra premium wines, but its second release of an under-$20 line called Debut shows off its cool climate vineyards. The 2007 merlot ($17.95) is a gem, a medium bodied wine with layers of flavour that is easy to drink.

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