Mark wrote on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 23:56:29 -0400:

>> surprised by the tannins, but those early synthetic corks had
>> about a 90% mortality rate after 4 o 5 years, much less
>> decade+ Supposedly some are supposed to be better now, but I
>> generally regard syn-corks as sign to drink with 2-3 years

> My thoughts perzackly, Dale. My experience with aging wines
> sealed with fake corks is "dead on arrival." In fact, one of my very
> early posts to AFW was about a '96 Siduri PN that was
> absolutely dead when opened in '99 or '00. I was too new to
> the phenomenon then to recognize it for what it was, but I
> have studiously avoided aging any wines sealed under fake cork
> for the last 5 years at least. Reduction be damned: bring on the
> screwcaps!

For my education, are "synthetic" corks those ribbed plastic stoppers
(polyethylene, I think) or those apparently composed of ground up cork
bound by some sort of plastic? I don't think I've seen either lately in
the younger wines that I drink day to day, tho' neither worked very
well, IMO.

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not