Recorking Service
Deciding what to do with expensive vintage wine can be daunting. The answer to whether a bottle should be consumed or held has never been less arduous until now.
Robert Willis Wines offers collectors and consumers of fine vintage wine the opportunity to have their bottles inspected, topped and recorked, enabling a sample of wine to be tasted during the process. This can give insight into the drinking window and provenance of a particular wine, as well as improve the storage capacity of wines that have insufficient ullage.
As the ullage of a wine decreases, the surface area of the wine exposed to free air space increases relative to the volume inside the bottle. Not only does this therefore exponentially increase the rate at which the wine oxidises, it also increases the rate at which it evaporates. Put simply, the lower the ullage, the higher the risk that a wine will excessively oxidise over time. The purpose of the Robert Willis Wine recorking service is to mitigate the risk whilst gaining the opportunity to experience the wine before sacrificing an entire bottle. Another risk that arises occurs during the recorking process, this is once again exposure to oxygen in the air. This is mitigated effectively with the use of a shielding gas, Argon.
Our process utilises gaseous Argon, which is a noble element that accounts for 0.93% of the earth's atmosphere by volume. Argon gas is used as a shield to protect the wine from inordinate oxidation of which permanently alters the chemical profile. Since the molecular mass of Argon is greater than Oxygen, it can be used effectively as a blanket, displacing and prevent oxygen from coming into contact with the wine. Argon is used continuously during the recorking process ensuring the wine is not damaged. Sample decanting and reserve wine topping is done with a syringe and not by pouring. This is once again a preventative measure against oxidation.
Robert Willis Wines is currently in the process of building reserve stock for common Australian wines held under cork (Penfolds Grange, Penfolds Bin 389, Henschke Hill of Grace, Moss Wood Cabernet and more). Robert Willis Wines can obtain special wines for recorking volumes exceeding 12 bottles of specific wines, simply get in touch here. Diam 2 and Diam 30 corks are utilised for short term and long term storage respectively.