[question] Question submitted by Rob Ball, Australia. Earlier this year I bought a few bottles of Wolf Blass Black Label 2002 which you gave a very high score. When I ordered them (online) I believed they were going to be screwcap but when they arrived they were under cork. I did not think much of it at the time but I recently read James Halliday’s rating of the same wine and he makes a specific note that his score (96) is for the screwcap version of the wine and goes on to state that there are vast difference between it and the conventionally sealed version. Can you please tell me if your own rating of this wine is based on the conventionally sealed version or the screwcap? Are you aware of a big difference in the quality of this wine between the two closure versions? Can you also please explain why there would be such a big difference in the wine between the two closure versions particularly at such an early stage of the wines development? [/question] [answer] Good call. I was at the same tasting as James when he correctly arrived at that conclusion. I was of the view that Australians would largely be drinking the screwcapped version, so that is the one I rated on this site and in my book. I am often staggered by the scale of the differences between screwcapped and cork-sealed expressions of the same wine. Typically, the screwcapped wines have significantly more depth and intensity in their aromas, while their palates are similarly more generous and profound. Due to their typically higher levels of oxygen (and perhaps also to their possibly reduced levels of reduction in comparison to the same wine sealed under screwcap), wines stored under cork appear to evolve more rapidly in the bottle over the first few years. For around three years, or so it appears, wines sealed with screwcap appear to be somewhat retarded and less developed, indeed less complex than those under cork. In my experience, by the time the wine has reached six or seven or so years of age, the screwcapped wines have caught up in the development and complexity stakes. I would stress now that these remarks are based on my constant but anecdotal observation, and not detailed scientific analysis. These comments could be interpreted as suggesting that if you are only likely to cellar wine for around three years or so, it might be best to buy bottles sealed with cork. Indeed so, but you still have to deal with the prevalent risks of cork taint and random (or sporadic) oxidation. [/answer]
