Red Experiment G8.1

In the Experiment series, nothing is sacred. We are relentlessly curious to see if there is a better way or a better option out there. With the 2011 G8.1, we explored an alternative closure – the glass stopper. This closure has no risk of taint and no oxygen ingress, so we expected to see that this would keep the wines a touch fresher and potentially influence aging.

At bottling, a glass stopper was hand applied to each bottle, which then received a foil that held the stopper in place. Following bottling, this wine was treated the same as all other wines from this vintage that received a cork finish.

We have been very pleased with the surprising results. We have had no reports of bottles leaking or the stopper popping out. Additionally, the wine has aged along a similar trajectory as other wines from this vintage. Despite our initial skepticism, the glass stopper has proven to be a very viable alternative to the cork. That said, it has killed a Coravin or two, so we’ll probably stick with corks for now.