Apologies that I’m going to offend some people here. I did a small tasting with these bottles of 2004 and 2012 Corison back in 2021. Then stashed them away upright in the back of a bar, not temp controlled, for about 4 years. Only rediscovered them recently. (I know, borderline sacrilegious). Figured it would be fun to taste them today after seeing the coravin storage time discussion yesterday.
The 2004 is heavily oxidized. It had a lower level since two glasses were taken out of it the first time back in 2021. Strong orange/amber color, tasted like sherry. Was a shame. The cork was pretty crumbly when I took it out with a Durand. I thought maybe the uncontrolled temp storage might have cooked these bottles too.
The 2012 came out stellar, thankfully. Really beautiful fruit left in that bottle. It only had one glass removed the first time, so less argon fill. Wonderful tertiary flavors developing. Nice eucalyptus and rosemary notes in addition to the black currant. Just a hint of vanilla and the tannins are silky smooth. Will really enjoy sipping this bottle down over the week.
In the end, a very fun science experiment and I unintentionally introduced a nice control in the process. I would have assumed the temps and the coravin messed up the ‘04, but since the ‘12 is singing, it seems the coravin and then 4 year storage ruined the ‘04 for whatever reason. Either an older cork not sealing properly, or the lower fill allowed more oxygen to mix in.
by msabre__7
5 Comments
My guess is the crumbly cork was the bigger issue than the wine having had a couple glasses removed via Coravin. Good chance the cork was not sealing tightly and the argon gradually seeped out with oxygen seeping in.
Thanks for the post, when I talk about this people say I’m crazy
The trick is to melt a bit of candle wax and drip a drop over the needle hole. That really helps.
It is either my solemn duty, or great pleasure, depending on how you take this news, to inform you that the oxidation on the 2004 is likely operator error on your part. (Good news if you’re worried about the quality of your Coravin, bad news if you are upset about the wine.)
I’m going to assume that the picture of the cork shown there is of the 2004, and I can tell you that this looks to me like a cork that didn’t re-seal properly. If I Coravin’d a bottle and it had a cork that looked like that, I’d tell my wife to clear her schedule the next night because it means we are opening and finishing that bottle. I had this happen with a very lovely Brunello once, which was both very sad and a great treat all at once.
As a general rule, you want to allow the cork some time to seal and then lay the wine on its side to ensure that the cork has properly re-sealed. If wine is leaking through, you need to (get to?) pop the cork and finish it expeditiously. As another rule, I’d say 4 months, rather than 4 years, is a better timeline to finish a bottle you’ve tapped with a Coravin. I trust a properly-used Coravin, but not for *years*, more like weeks or months.
Thanks for the data!