[Music] What is up, guys? Stearic, a year of social vineyards. Welcome back to another video. This is episode 33 of the Tasting with Julien series, the series where we together taste and learn about the world of wine. We explore the different facets of the world of wine. Wow, and I can't believe I'm actually doing this today. I have been sitting on these bottles for about a year, waiting for the right moment to run this tasting and to do this video. This is the day I find out whether the screw caps or natural corks are better to age your wines. So, what have we got here? I've got six bottles of the same wine, or I mean the same producer. Those are white wines made by Château La Louvière. Those are white wines made from Sauvignon Blanc, barrel-fermented Sauvignon Blanc, in the Bordeaux area, south of the Bordeaux area, in the basically on the Graves area. Some of the best white wines from the Bordeaux area and from a very famous and

great, great, great producer of basically when your chateau la lluvia. These guys have been kind enough, generous, utterly generous enough with me to supply me with these bottles. So what have we got here? We've got three wines from the 2017 vintage and three wines from the 2007 vintage. So we've got ones that are about nine years old on this side and twelve years old on this side. They have been sell it at the winery. But what is specific, what is fantastic about these wines? Two of these wines, this end, have been buttered and on the cork, while one of them has been bottled and the screw cap, and same here. So why two bottles and the coke? Well, as we know, the variability cork is a natural product, which is a pro, which is a great thing about it because it's more ecologically sound, it's a more ecological resource because it's a natural product versus metal in aluminium on this side. But the downside of it is that it's a natural natural.

product. It's not consistent. It doesn't see all the wines, all the wines the same way. The one eats through the cork as well, so eventually the cork may start being destroyed, and then it's hard to pull out. It takes longer to pull out. So there are pros and cons, but at the end of the day, what we want is the best for our wines. At the end of the day, what we want is to know what is best for age-worthy wines, the wines that we are going to cellar, the wines that we invest on. What is best for our wines at the end of the day? So there's been an eternal debate on dough from the ones that love corks and the ones they hated. In Australia and New Zealand, they love the screw cap, and I lived in Australia, and I lived in New Zealand for over six years, so I know where these guys stand. They hate natural cork. They love the screw cap. I'm French. I grew up in France, and so I can see and I can understand where the French and many in Europe love

the sound, and I'm emotional about the sound of the cork being pulled out. I have no preconceived ideas about what I prefer. Honestly, I do prefer what's best for the wines, especially when it comes to aging. For younger wines, where fruity, our magic white wine screw cap is definitely better for me, and I took that from New Zealand, I suppose from the Sauvignon Blancs. For red wines, it all comes down to aging. I do like the practicality of screw caps, but at the end of the day, as I was saying, it's all about whether they aged better under screw cap or not. So, let's find out and have a taste at all of these wines. So, six wines, it's going to be a little long to get through, but you know I'm brave enough. Test number one, opening the bottles of wine, which one is best. Okay, let's start with the screw cap. Done. Three seconds. Let's try the cork, and I might speed up a little bit here so it's not too boring. Okay, let's go.

[Music] [Applause] [Music] okay time-wise, screw cap definitely wins. It's taking me about a minute and ten seconds to pull the cork out. Also, I came across one of the problems with corks. This cork broke as I was pulling it. I was pulling it out, so really had to make sure I had the screw really all the way through until the end to pull this cork out. This is the 2010 vintage, so you can imagine with another five or ten years, that may have been a problem for breaking this cork. It's always a little bit tricky to get the cork out, and I've had this problem before. Okay, allow me one second. I need to open that other bottle that is under cork. [Music] This is a great bit. So anyways, so now we've got all these three bottles open. Let's try these little babies and see what they've got to say. Okay, so I'm going to start pouring the screw cap here on this side here and the two wines under cork on here. You note here, can you

see the color all right here. Wow, so I'm not sure you can actually see the color of these wines very well, but I can certainly see them. And what have we got in terms of the color? The wine in the screw cap is definitely brighter, and it still has a little bit of green hues into it. It certainly looks a lot brighter. Well, the two under cork, one is definitely quite golden, and you can see that it's evolved over time. This one is less golden; it's got less dense brown hues into it. So definitely, just from looking at the color, you can see that these two lines in the cork must have some sort of variety, just from looking at it. Let's take into those two and the cork first. You have to know that these wines made in the glove and basically when your area, especially the ones that are barrel-fermented, are some of the most age-worthy white wines from Bordeaux, but from all around the world as well. I've had, I was lucky enough to work for

the from for these guys at Andre Luton, and I was lucky enough to experience wines from the 1970s, the 1980s, and even up to the 1950s. White wines, and some are aged beautifully, beautifully so. Those one, some of the most age-worthy. It's not very well known outside of Bordeaux or outside of France, but some of these Sauvignon Blancs are the most aged-worthy, the most fascinating wines, white wines to age in the whole world. So, this first wine, and the cork is still shiny, is still super, super vibrant. I'm getting a lot of the broom and this typical passion fruit character that you get from the Sauvignon Blanc. It's also slightly buttery, it's a little bit oaky, a little bit of vanilla. It's got some passion fruit, it's got some pineapple, it's tropical, but it's also quite horrible with the typical slightly, you know, Cappy flavour and aroma of the Sauvignon Blanc. It's very elegant, its

complexity, but it's still very, very fresh and vibrant. Great, great complexity that has developed in there, but the freshness is still there even in this wine and the coke. Let's try the other wine and the coq. Wow, so straight away, even from the aroma. So, I was saying that this wine is a lot more golden smelling. It's got a lot more waxy and honey characters to it. It still has a bit of the pineapple, but it's more on the dried pineapple. There's a lot more tropical fruits and dried fruits in there instead of the vegetal grassy character that is typical of the Sauvignon Blanc. So, this one has obviously changed quite dramatically. It's evolved quite a lot, going on the waxy, honey, nutty, and tropical side of things already after nine years. Let's see what it tastes like. It does taste beautiful as well, but this is more definitely. We're going more on the mobile. Try it. It is kind of sodium or sweet desert style in terms of flavor. It's a lot more tropical. It's a lot more

opulent and rich, and definitely less of the freshness. So, I mean, you would taste these wines blind, these two wines on the clock. You wouldn't believe they are actually the exact same wine, same winery, same vintage. They are absolutely both delicious, but this one seems like it's perhaps, yeah, maybe nine years old, but it could be even younger. This could be only four or five years old, while this feels definitely it's 10 years, maybe 15 or more. It's not tired, though. It's still excellent, excellent. But the bottle variation here is absolutely striking, absolutely emails. So, there's a saying in the world of wine: no two bottles are the same, even especially, and that's especially true, obviously, in the natural cork, even say more in recent vintage. The bottle variation can be absolutely mint, and we do have an outstanding demonstration here. Let's move on to the won and the screw cap. Wow, this smells so fresh and vibrant. I can still smell the grassiness of the Sauvignon Blanc. It's floral.

You're getting some lily. I'm getting a lot of honeysuckle as well. The broom and the cap is there. It's so bright and shiny and vibrant. Wow, this is amazing. I can't believe this is a 10-year-old Sauvignon Blanc. Wow, it's got the subtle grassy characters of Sauvignon Blanc as one of the slightly delicate acacia honey surrounding it. This is fantastic to smell. Wow, wow, wow, my mind is blown. The opulence on the palate, the body seems to be a lot rounder. The acidity has retained all its freshness, the crispiness, the outstanding, the vasty, the vibrancy, the liveliness. This is such a wine that is so lively. I mean, it seems to have rounded up and smoothed from the ten years of aging. It's developed complexity and the depth that is, you know, can only come from aged wine, but it's retained all the freshness, so it feels complete. It will hold. It feels, oh, I mean, wow, my mind is blown at how good this wine is. Those two of

superb, superb, superb expression, and let me get back to them for a second. [Music] Wow, all three of our suburban, in a way, I guess dating is amol side-by-side. You can sense why, how this is the same wine, but the expressions are just all over the place. I do have to admit that I love the freshness, and you can still sense even the oak in the belt, the freshness of the oak in this one. One of the first, the least aged, and the least developed wine of the ones, and the cork has the freshness, but it's got the evolution, so it's probably the most balanced and complex of them all. This one is actually getting a little bit tired, so massive, massive variability, but the most impressive for me for that vintage is certainly the one under screw Cup. I'm amazed at how fresh and vibrant this one still is. It has developed the complexity as well. It's not like it feels like it's a young wine that doesn't have dips in and links to the tasting experience. It

has it, but it's also retaining the freshness in the sensation that you're actually tasting the grapes and the terroir and the bowels that it was made from. So, for me, on this 2007 vintage, it's three points more for the one and the screw cap without hesitation, even though the other two are absolutely superb as well. Let's move on to the 2010 vintage for 2007 vintage, I should say, and see whether we've got the same result or not. I'll be back in a second. Okay, so moving on to 2007 vintage, and let's start pouring the wines on the cork. Okay, so we've got a golden color here, slightly more evolved and developed than the 2010 vintage. And if I look at the color of these two, wow, again, one of them has developed a much deeper, much more golden amber hue to it than the other one. So, a bit of a variety here. Wow, let's see what the score crew 1 has to say. Wow, again, I don't know how whether you

can see it, but the difference in color is quite striking. This is still a little green. It's still so vibrant to look at, where these two seem, you know, much, much more evolved. The golden, the shiny, but golden. Let's dig into them further, okay? Let's start with their coat once. [Applause] Wow, so the first one in the cork has definitely developed quite a lot. It's now become really, really naughty. There's a lot of one character. The length, though, is absolutely immense. So this is really a wine that has developed. It's not dead. It's still very, very vibrant, but it's all really, really nutty now. It feels a bit like almost like an amaretto liqueur, lots and lots of not like a nut liqueur. I have to say that this bottle had a cork that was the broke as well, and that is a little bit tired. You can see that it's starting to disintegrate a little bit here, and I suspect - this wine has evolved quite a

bit because of this cork that has moved. Let's try the other one on the court. Wow, so this one is a lot more vibrant. The fruit characters are much more lively. Twelve years old, and this is exactly what I was saying about these wines. Twelve years old Sauvignon Blanc and the cork, and they still bright and shiny, and the depth and complexity is just immense. So, if you weren't aware of the white wines from Sauvignon Blanc from the south and ball area, some of the best white wines, my one of my favorite wine styles of them all, and they are aged worse. He was their Weisswurst investing on in salaries for ten, fifteen, twenty years, and more, and you are just amazed at how far those wines can go. Some of these wines in great vintages like 2007 and like 2010 can age for 30, 35, 40 years even, and the court, and I can't even imagine when the screw cap. These wines in the screw cap, it looks like they could age.

400 years and the screw cap. I wouldn't be surprised all that much. Wow, so tasting the one and the screw cap. The collar has evolved a little bit more, so you can see that the wines are moving, they are evolving. Even on the nose, it's not quite as vibrant and fresh as those 2010 vintage. Three years more, the wine has evolved, so it's not like screw cap freezes the wine completely. It still moves, and you can sense that heat has moved for 12 years in here. It has evolved, but not the whole lolly. Still fresh and vibrant to smell it, at least. Wow, yeah, again, the vibrancy and the crispness, the expression of the primary food character of Sauvignon Blanc. Excuse me on the only swine and the screw cap is just stunning. 12 years in a bottle of wine, and you can send steel since the freshness of the grapes, and the palate is also super, super lively. So, it's not only about the aromatics that have retained the freshness, but it's

also about the liveliness on the palate, the way the wine and the acidity interacts with your palate, and the very fresh freshness and the fragrance of the flavor also participates in a wine that feels so vibrant. It feels sunny. It feels filled with all the goodness from the terroir and from the Sun. It's a happy person alive in there. Well, here it's more like wine that have matured. They've acquired with age more maturity. So they are perhaps a little bit more interesting in a way, you know, like a bit of a person that evolves that in his mid-40s or something. They become a bit more interesting. Maybe they're a little bit less appealing, but they have a lot more to say in a way. That's it. Those wines under screw cup feel like they are in their late 20s, and they've learned a whole lot in the meantime. They still have the freshness and the appeal of young wines, but they also have a lot and lot to say, and they're also really

really fascinating to taste, so I might be a little bit biased. I'm not sure how, but I'm just utterly impressed by those wines on the screw cap, and I'm impressed on how pure the fruity and the floral expression still is after 10, 12 years in the bottle. And I believe this is, I mean, if you add the variability that we found, and we definitely seen like it's major between the two bottles that were and the cork, if you factor this in the fact that if you buy one of these wines, you are going to get completely or really, really different wines, and you take the risk of having a corked wine as well. The wines and the screw cap for me, it's just really a clear victory. There's no arguing here. I wish you were here to experience this with me for yourself. I hope you get a chance some days. This is just absolutely mind-blowing how good all of these wines are, but the ones and the screw cap are just, for me, they blow it, blow it, blowing my mind.

think it's the first time that I taste the 12-year-old Bao fermented wine under screw cap, and they just absolutely superb. My mind is racing right now; this is mind-blowing. Okay, I'll think about a conclusion, and I'll get back to you in a second. Wow. So, I have been thinking for five minutes about how to conclude this video and trying to make up my mind. What I'm thinking, I think I can summarize it with these two corks. I hope you can see them well enough. Those two are both from the 2010 vintage, but they are so, so different. One of them has started to crumble; the other one looks perfect. The wine has only gone through like one or two millimeters there, nothing. This summarizes this tasting and my experience with this wine. The aging and the cork is fantastic because the wines evolve, and they acquire this complexity and flavors and aromas that you don't find and experience very often in wines. We do experience a lot of grassy passion fruit characters for any

young Sauvignon Blanc that you buy anywhere around the world. Aged wines like these pearl fermented Sauvignon Blancs for 10 years developed some nutty and waxy characters, the dips and complexity and lengths on the palate that is really well. That know many people experienced, and for this, I absolutely love the aging and the coke. But tasting the swine's and the screw caps, I think, yeah, it would take probably 20 or 25 or 30 years for those to acquire it, require this complexity. But they would also feature the freshness of the fruit and the terroir and the grapes that they were made from. So, it's really hard to choose which ones, you know, which way you prefer. But I'm just amazed at how consistent the screw cap is and how well those wines have aged under screw cap. So, I think I have to give the clear victory to the screw caps. I was blown away by those wines. But, you know, the ones on the [ __ ] Destin proud, I guess it's more for

people that are really into developed wines and that want developed nutty Wuxi flavors, that love this type of aromas, and they wanted 10 years after the vintage, or you know, they want to buy a 10-year-old wine, and they want this evolved characteristics into their wine, and they don't quite mind that there is a bottle variation against bottle variation, makes things a bit more interesting as well because you never exactly know what you're gonna get, and it's always gonna get a little bit different in every wine. In your case, it's always gonna be a bit of a surprise, and I guess that's a bit exciting, but the downside is that some bottles are a lot more evolved and a bit tired, and some are still fresh and vibrant and exciting. So, you know, it's a matter really a matter of taste, but I think from now on, at least for this type of Sauvignon Blanc, the fermented Sauvignon Blancs, and I'm sure this works for pretty much any, at least white wines, the

wrestling's and the Chardonnay is. I'm sure we would get the same type of result from now on. I am absolutely going to sustain and support the corkscrews, man. If you and you're making this type of white wines, go for screwcap at least half of your production. I know the bottling lines are different. I know those can be a little bit expensive as well, at least to invest on, but if you're making edge-worthy wants to invest in to screw caps. And if you are a consumer and you don't want to consider screw cap wines, well, change your mind. Change your mind. Visit a producer and ask them to pull out an old bottle of wine bottle than the screw cap. You will see that those wines are just amazing, amazing, amazing to taste even ten years, fifteen years. They do evolve. They do age. Anyway, I don't know. I'm absolutely convinced in. Well, you know, I mean, you haven't tasted this wine, so you just have to believe me, but my main, main screw cap, screw cap all.

the way, at least for white wine. I'm dying to try those on aged red wines now, but man, now I know why the Kiwis and the Aussies are all about the screw caps. I didn't know why. Why would he want to cook, except for all the good reasons that I've given before. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this episode. I hope this wasn't too boring and me ranting and talking by myself in front of the camera, but yeah, this was a fascinating experience for me. I hope it was. I'm happy I shared it with you, and I'll see you around, and I'll see you soon in the world of wine. Cheers. [Music] [Applause]

Cork Vs. Screwcap for Ageing Wine? 🍷🤔

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