Penfolds Wine Clinic - 2018 - Open for Bookings

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Penfolds

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  GG57 on 06/09/2018 - 15:19

  +2

  It would make for interesting people-watching, much like 'Antiques Roadshow'.
  The excitement, trepidation, and either relief or disappointment.

  • 

    HighAndDry on 06/09/2018 - 15:47

    I think Penfolds might have the same idea:

    You grant to us the right to film, photograph and make audio and/or visual recordings of you at the Clinic (together “Recordings”). You confirm that there are no restrictions that prevent you from participating in the Recordings. You agree that we will own all the Recordings and have the right to use, edit, alter and exploit them by any means in any media throughout the world. You assign to us any rights, title and interest (including copyright) that you have in the Recordings and release us from any claims and liability arising from any such use and exploitation of the Recordings.

    • 

      GG57 on 06/09/2018 - 16:11

      +2

      "…exploitation…" - at least they are open about the possibility.

    • 

      PlasticSpaceman on 06/09/2018 - 16:36

      +2

      Of course nothing to stop you, if they start filming, to keep talking about how much better Orlando wines are to Penfolds, or how sad it is that Leo Buring and Lindemans have never really been the same since they were bought by Treasury Wine Estates ;-)

  • 

    PlasticSpaceman on 06/09/2018 - 16:19

    +2

    Actually, you are not too far off there. Whilst I waited for my slot to come up, I had a good time sitting in the waiting area people watching. There was a wide range of people from the old couple clutching the one bottle, to people like me with a few bottles in a small box, to those with dozens in special boxes and trolleys. I saw a few bottles fail - some not unexpectedly as they were really low - but in general they were passing most bottles as ok. Surprisingly a lot of bottles being checked seemed to be closer to the 15yo mark rather than older. I say surprising, as for the most part I'd say most wine - if cellared properly, and if a good quality cork has been used - should be fine for at least 25 years. Basically, I'm nor sure why they were bothering. The wines I was having checked were over 40 years old….

    Things to be aware of that they may not tell you.
    After the bottle has been recorked, the wine should be left to stand upright for a few days - this lets the cork properly expand and seal the bottle, before being laid down again
    The wine should not be drunk for a few years after being recorked (say, three to five years)
    If you intend to sell your wine, a recorked certified wine will usually sell for more than one that hasn't been if the wine doesn't come from a recognised source (a well known collector, the winery 'museum' cellar, etc). If the wine has good provenance, then one that has not been recorked will usually sell for more.
    A recorked wine is likely to taste differently to one that has not been recorked, if only because of the introduction of potentially younger wine to top it up.
    The older the bottle of wine & cork, the greater the chance of the cork failing - and then the wine will be ruined - so you need to balance the risks/drawbacks/benefits
    If you intend to drink the wine in the next year or two, then I wouldn't bother.

    If you have a number of bottles that have been stored in the same way, then definitely just get one checked rather than all of them unless it looks like the corks are failing. An indication of this is wine 'weeping' past the cork, and/or the level of wine in the bottle starting to drop. With the bottles I took, two of the corks were perfectly fine but one was on the edge of failing and crumbled as it was removed.

    • 

      HighAndDry on 06/09/2018 - 16:56

      Thanks for the tips. I have a few bottles I've bought and saving for special occasions… would you recommend testing them if I'm 99% going to drink them myself anyway?

      • 

        PlasticSpaceman on 06/09/2018 - 17:15

        If you plan to drink them in the next year or two, and they have been kept in a cool area away from light or vibration or major temperature fluctuation, then no. Otherwise I'd look at them and check the levels. If they are getting low (there's an ullage measure here: https://www.penfolds.com/-/media/Files/Penfolds2/Recorking-C…) - ie below the neck of the bottle where it starts to go out (in the measure it's yellow or red) then I'd definitely think about having them tested so - when you have that special drink, it's not ruined by being greeted by vinegar. You can always just have one tested and, if it's ok and has been kept in the same area then again it's likely the others will be ok. Or, you can always make sure you have a backup bottle of something you can fall back to if the first bottle is a dud. My 'special event' bottle frankly is Krug NV Grande Cuvee - can simply walk into Dans and get one to pop into the fridge. :-)

      • 

        HighAndDry on 06/09/2018 - 17:27

        @PlasticSpaceman:

        Or, you can always make sure you have a backup bottle of something you can fall back to if the first bottle is a dud.

        I wouldn't say I'm poor, but I'm not quite that rich haha. The Penfolds I'm saving are basically vintages from special years like weddings, birth years, etc. Can't really justify having more than one bottle of those. But luckily none of those years have fallen on the extremely famous/sought-after vintages so I guess I have that going for me?

      • 

        PlasticSpaceman on 06/09/2018 - 17:57

        @HighAndDry: Heh. Fair enough. It's not something I do all that often either!

        Main thing (if you don't plan to drink it in the next few months) is to store wine in an area where the temperature doesn't vary much, and where it's normally dark. Then the next important thing is to try to keep the temperature down - in theory between 10 to 15, and ideally around 12 degrees, but practically a little higher eg 16 or 17 is fine as long as you can accept that the warmer it is, the quicker the wine ages. With bottles with corks in them (screw jobs don't care) it's also good to have some humidity to help prevent the corks from drying out. Finally, ideally there should not be vibration as shaking up the sediment can also prematurely age wine.

        Saying all that, if you don't have something like a dedicated cellar then a typical linen closet can be pretty decent wine storage - might not be that cool, but generally the temperature will not vary a lot and it's dark. Something like a Grange that could live for 50+ years may only last for 30+ in a linen closet, but that's fine for most people eg that special bottle for when your kid turns 21 etc.

      • 

        HighAndDry on 06/09/2018 - 18:11

        @PlasticSpaceman: Thanks. I do keep them in a cool dark place so from what you said I think I'm comfortable keeping them there. Might still go just to see what it's like, seems like it'd be fairly interesting.

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  AusGP on 06/09/2018 - 23:05

  Have you ever opened a recorked wine a few years down the track to see how it compares to an original?

  I've auctioned a few bottles of grange, some for special upcoming birthday and some just cos it seemed cheap…but hoping they are all ok to drink at some stage. Although have registered half my bottles for recorking am in two minds given the potential different taste

  • 

    PlasticSpaceman on 07/09/2018 - 08:58

    +1

    Yep, and there is a difference but if it's done well then it would be impossible to tell if that was because of the recorking or simply due to bottle variation. Two of the bottles I had recorked were the same vintage, bought at the same time, cellared next to each other, and when I tasted them at the clinic they were significantly different.

    This time I've registered some more for the clinic, but I may only get a few of them done - in particular the ones where the ullage is in the mid to low 'orange' level in the chart I linked to above. Basically, I'd much rather have an unopened bottle that's in good condition than a bottle that's been 'certified', but if the levels are getting low then the options are either to drink the wine now or take it to a clinic to be topped up and recorked.

    So, forget about the potential taste difference. If you do not plan to drink the bottle(s) soon and the wine needs recorking (check the cork for weepage, and refer to that chart), then do it.