Jean-Marc Quarin

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The taster is Jean-Marc Quarin, a well known, independent and influential wine critic in Bordeaux. He has a reputation for publishing exactly what is in the bottle the consumer buys. Jean-Marc Quarin is the only critic in the world who publishes wine comments that identify who produced the cork that was so intimate with the wine for so long. For over 25 years he has been regularly bringing up the enormous problem of the difference from one bottle to another in the most famous and most expensive Bordeaux wines. Since 2004 he has also been writing comments under the title he coined “The cork, wine’s ultimate dimension”. In addition, Jean-Marc Quarin has written a tasting method called "Palate over nose". He teaches how to recognize the mouth descriptors responsible for the quality and the style of the wines. 

 

Jean-Marc Quarin came across the same wine, a Chablis 1er cru Fourchaume 2018, which was bottled with two different micro-granulated technical corks. One had the ProCork semi-crystalline polymer membrane protecting the wine from contact with the glue and cork materials. The other was the leading brand of technical cork in the market. The wine was bottled within 6 months so variation of oxygen transmission would not have affected the wines. Out of interest he did a number of professional blind tastings over various time periods. Here are some of the findings from Jean-Marc Quarin’s extensive and professionally recorded notes.

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   1. Longevity 

​Jean-Marc Quarin observed that it is likely that the wine corked by ProCork will keep its qualities over time. After three days of opening, the ProCork wine picked up tension in the body while keeping its silky and melting mouth sensation. The wine with the leading brand of technical cork on the other hand lost its qualities over three days.

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   2. Regularity

Jean-Marc Quarin found the ProCork bottles were more consistent presenting the same taste whereas the leading brand of technical cork showed two different tastes one slightly more acidic and the other slightly more bitter.

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    3. A cork that respects the vision of the Winemaker

Jean-Marc Quarin found that the two different corks produced two different styles of wine. The ProCork produced a style that had more ripe fruit with a silky and melting mouth sensation. The leading brand of technical cork in the market on the other hand produced a fresh and lively style of Chablis. He noted an individual may have a preference for one style over another. He raises the question did the cork change the style of the wine? Jean-Marc Quarin comments that the tasting notes for the wine before bottling would be very revealing. However, he later discovers how the winemaker describes his own wine as "round with a solar fruit” on the back label. Jean-Marc Quarin therefore concludes it was ProCork preserving the Winemaker’s style and vision for the wine.

 

​If our new semi-crystalline polymer membrane technology continues to perform like this, with its lower cost it is sure to revolutionise the technical cork market.

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*If you want to read the actual tasting notes contact procork@procorktech.com

 

Contact: Dr Gregor Christie

83 Avenida Santiago

Rio Meao Portugal                              www.procorktech.com        email: procork@procorktech.com