It appears there's another new alternative closure solution on the market, at least one that's new to me: the AS Elite, produced by a company called Guala Seal (also known as Ardea Seal). According to its manufacturers, the AS Elite is "probably the best stopper in the world." While that remains to be seen, I will say that it does seem to present some potential advances over other plastic/polymer type closures.
I was recently surprised to find a Guala Seal stopping up a bottle of Burgundy, not a Passetoutgrain, mind you, but a $30ish sub-regional red Burg from a reputable estate-based producer in the Côtes de Nuits. I've never known this producer to utilize any type of non-cork closure in the past and was a bit perplexed that they chose a mid-level rather than entry-level wine for its introduction.
In summary, I'm less than thrilled with the look and feel of the AS Elite. I've never particularly liked the aesthetics (or performance, for that matter) of any of the plastic/elastomer family of stoppers, but this somehow manages to look even more artificial. From a performance perspective, though, I'll try to keep an open mind and will be curious to see how the Guala Seal stands the test of time.
10 comments:
As always with these seals, the bottle neck must be symmetrical lest the plastic doesn't expand to fit snugly.
Good.
Nice timing. I'm posting on my first encounter with these corks in a couple days at http://181days.tumblr.com/post/407174461/february-27 (link to entry not working yet till then). I can say I sure got a kick out of the design, but then the context was different. My Guala Seal wasn't in a Burg, but a Ligurg (yeah, that's right a Ligurian wine, you heard me). It was also in my first-ever Ligurian wine on my first evening in Italy - first hour actually - and I just went out to the pizzeria and stopped at the Eurodrink on my way back to the hotel to eat dinner and drink some Dolcetto. When I removed the capsule, the non-business end resembled a tiny pizza (business end was identical to yours). Surely your aesthetic judgment would've changed if you had been there with me to behold and inspect it, and then eat fresh Genoese pizza. Here: take a look. Bravo Guala, Bravo!
Anon,
Very good point, though I wonder how much of an issue asymmetry is given modern glass production methods. Do you know of any statistics or studies that suggest it's still a prevalent issue?
Marcus,
The insert-corkscrew-here-end of the stopper in my bottle was identical in appearance to yours, just with a slightly darker shade of red. That bullseye, I believe is the upper edge of the structure of the "chassis" that keeps the cork from stretching and prevents the corkscrew from going awry.
I'm not sure my aesthetic appreciation of the stopper itself would have been any greater in the scenario you describe, though I definitely may have found it more humorous given its resemblance to the pizza.
wow, I'm really feeling like I need some closure...
great post, McDuff... it's one of those reasons wine blogging is so cool: it's a way for all of us to stay informed on what's going in our industry...
good stuff... (even if the closure may not stand the test of time...)
Always glad to be of service, Jeremy.
McDuff-
Great post! I love alternate closure's for bottles, especially ones designed to be drunk up young . . .they cost less (usually, not alwaysa) and work pretty well. Still there is the romance of poping a real cork, I suppose.
Cheers,
Ben
Hey Ben,
The romantic association with cork pulling is exactly the problem, here. I think producers that opt for synthetic stoppers such as the Guala Seal are trying to preserve the ritual pulling of the cork. While I've been very happy with the DIAM as a short- to mid-term seal, I'm much less so with the various elastomer stoppers on the market, as I've seen them cause widespread problems with both oxidation and plastic-y flavors. As I mentioned in this post, I'm willing to reserve judgment on the Guala. In general, though, I'd much rather see producers dispense with the in-neck "tradition" and opt for a screw cap.
Hi David - This is the new link to my encounter with these corks in Italy: 181 days (Day 61). Sorry that the previous ones don't work.
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