These are just a few thoughts from a tasting of Les Tourelles 2004 at Pichon-Baron earlier this year. Having opened two bottles, one closed with cork and the other with screwcap, this was an opportunity to see what difference a year or two with these different closures made to this wine. I don't have a huge drum to bang regarding the closures debate, and I remain in equipoise still following this tasting.
The two wines were tasted blind (I knew the identity of the wine, but not which was from under cork or screwcap), and there were striking differences between them. The first had a fresh colour, remaining firmly in the red spectrum and the nose had the tiniest hint of reduction. But the wine itself, on the palate, was pretty good; this was the wine from the bottle bearing a screwcap. The wine from under cork bore a hugely different colour which would have had me thinking it to be a much older wine, had I not had the prior knowledge that these were both of the 2004 vintage. The aromas on the nose were very similar, but the wine seemed more advanced on the palate. This was a very different experience. Nevertheless, it was impossible to walk away from the tasting saying that one had been certainly 'better' than the other. If you were looking for a wine to cellar, or indeed if you had a number of bottles in storage, the first wine - from under screwcap - would perhaps have inspired greater confidence. Having said that, however, there was a hint of reduction on the nose here, a commonly described problem with wines under screwcap. But those looking for a wine to drink now may well have found the second wine more to their taste.
I though this an interesting conclusion, suggesting that in this particular incidence the screwcap outperformed the cork in what might - perhaps for want of a better expression - be termed 'cellar-freshness'. When we consider that the ability to cellar wines is one frequently touted reason for avoiding screwcaps, this seems like a surprising conclusion. We should remember, however, that the concerns centre around how a screwcap would perform over many years and indeed many decades, whereas this tasting looked at wines with just a few years in bottle. So it will be vital that we see how these two wines progress over the coming years, and so I hope an opportunity to do so will arise again sometime.
Screwcap: Les Tourelles de Longueville (Pauillac) 2004: From one of the 12000 bottles under screwcap. Of the two wines, one under screwcap and one under cork (both tasted blind) this has the fresher colour. A smoky and gamey nose, with a touch of iodine. Perhaps a touch reduced? Rounded, sweet, firm, with gentle fruit and good tannin. Not very vigorous. Good though. The bright colour and note of reduction suggests screwcap to me. 15.5+/20
Cork: Les Tourelles de Longueville (Pauillac) 2004: This wine, also tasted blind, turned out to be bottled under cork. It has a remarkably different colour considering these have only been in bottle a year or two. Although the colour is more advanced, it still has a smoky and gamey character on the nose, and is clearly in the same vein as the preceding wine, although it is perhaps less expressive. It seems a little more fleshy, a touch sweeter. It has clearly evolved differently, and is attractive. Ready for drinking very soon. 15.5/20
