THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
April 2017
The newsletter from ProCork where technology and nature merge
Richard Serisier
Recognition
In this newsletter we profile Richard Serisier, the Australian owner of the Right Bank Bordeaux estate Domaine Serisier and a ProCork user since 2013. Richard is a potential rising star with his first vintage quickly collecting accolades since its release. Gold medal Le Concours Grand Vins France Macon 2014, Gold medal Gilbert & Gaillard 2016, Silver medal at Concours International de Lyon 2015, Silver medal at Bettane & Desseauve Concours Prix Plaisir 2016
"The first vintage, 2012, is a masterstroke. Full bodied but not too firm, this 100% merlot seems to be energised by its clay and limestone soil. ……. It’s only the taste that matters. This constitutes its originality. From the start the vintage places itself within the élite of Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieurs, two labels whose potential will be discovered when entrepreneurs decide to devote as much work on them as they do on crus classés. M. Serisier’s Australian origins, a different wine culture from that of Bordeaux, help him to go beyond the artificial boundaries imposed between appellations that I myself have often found baseless."
Jean-Marc QUARIN ‘Chronicles’ July, 2016, Le Bout du Monde, 2012 Bordeaux supérieur – 15,5 // 88; Nouvel Outsider mêlant esthétique et forte note Plaisir.
Recognition
In this newsletter we profile Richard Serisier, the Australian owner of the Right Bank Bordeaux estate Domaine Serisier and a ProCork user since 2013. Richard is a potential rising star with his first vintage quickly collecting accolades since its release. Gold medal Le Concours Grand Vins France Macon 2014, Gold medal Gilbert & Gaillard 2016, Silver medal at Concours International de Lyon 2015, Silver medal at Bettane & Desseauve Concours Prix Plaisir 2016
"The first vintage, 2012, is a masterstroke. Full bodied but not too firm, this 100% merlot seems to be energised by its clay and limestone soil. ……. It’s only the taste that matters. This constitutes its originality. From the start the vintage places itself within the élite of Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieurs, two labels whose potential will be discovered when entrepreneurs decide to devote as much work on them as they do on crus classés. M. Serisier’s Australian origins, a different wine culture from that of Bordeaux, help him to go beyond the artificial boundaries imposed between appellations that I myself have often found baseless."
Jean-Marc QUARIN ‘Chronicles’ July, 2016, Le Bout du Monde, 2012 Bordeaux supérieur – 15,5 // 88; Nouvel Outsider mêlant esthétique et forte note Plaisir.
Mr Serisier who only uses ProCork said "I think it’s a false economy to try and save money on the cork for your wine. This is because after spending so much time and money making the wine it is a pity to risk it being spoiled by the closure. It’s better to use the best quality cork you can afford rather than accepting second best. Whilst ProCork doesn’t 'make my wine' it does ensure that it is presented to the consumer in the same spirit in which it was made.”
He also said “I like the fact that the membrane eliminates the risk of TCA being transmitted from the cork into the wine. But not only that, with the membrane it also presents the wine in a very regular or homogenous way, in that each bottle evolves in the same way.”
Oxygen Transmission Rate
and
ProCork’s Selective Membrane
ProCork is determined to eliminate cork OTR defects in high grade batches of ProCork destined to care for cellared wines. A combination of techniques are used but ultimately the selective permeability of the proprietary ProCork membrane controls the OTR to that of the best natural cork.
If a batch of cork contains a percentage of high OTR corks (that is high permeability corks) then those bottles of wine will show a premature loss of fruit flavor resulting in a loss of balance and causing the wines to present of wide variation of qualities across the bottles.
One result of the sensory measurements carried out by AWRI in their Independent 2002 Wine Closure Trial was that cork showed a high spread of Fruit Characters presumably because of the wide spread of OTR naturally occurring in cork. The natural ProCork (natural cork with a selective membrane coating) presented a much tighter band of Fruit Character which corresponded to the best 1/4 of the natural cork range. Interestingly, Diam was not able to achieve the same level of fruit flavor as the best natural corks. Screw cap on the other hand intensified the fruit flavor which may result in fruity wines that may not be as balanced as the best natural cork.
It also supports the belief that the evolution of wine sensory characteristics post-bottling is driven primarily by the closure OTR where low OTR leads to retention of fresh fruit characters and high OTR leads to the development of cooked and stewed fruit characters, brown colours and eventually oxidized characters. It should also be noted that very low OTR values can lead to the development of reductive attributes in the wine.
This is the reason that ProCork is determined to eliminate cork OTR defects and is committed to membrane technology in high grade batches of ProCork destined to care for cellared wines.
Contact: Dr Gregor Christie
Ave Santiago 84
Rio Meao Portugal www.procorktech.com info@procorktech.com