Do You Know What A Stelvin Closure Is?

Yesterday's tasting at Parker Wine Cellars featured three wines from Schild Estates in Australia, and all of them were quite good:

2009 UNOAKED CHARDONNAY~ Using grapes from their original Three Springs Farm property that doesn't see oak, but does see malolactic fermentation, this wine shows what the true nature of Chardonnay is. Starting with a nose of guava and lemongrass, this golden hued liquid jostles the palate with honeydew melon, ripe pear and subtle lemon. Mineral tones with a balanced structure keeps the finish around for an extended stay that pleases with a smile.

2007 BAROSSA SHIRAZ~ A classic grape that shows off the Barossa Valley's best quite nicely. Your olfactory is stimulated by ripe blackberries and pipe tobacco that meld into a palate full of black currant and black cherry that shows hints of licorice and sage. The finish actually seems fuller than it really is and shows off a balanced structure that lingers until your next sip. 92 Points and Best Buy~The Wine Spectator. (MY NOTE: This was my favorite of the three and the one I took home. Even at $21.99 it's a bargain because it is such a good wine.)

2009 OLD BUSH VINE 'GSM'~ Wow, what a treat! This heady offering brings together 55% Grenache, 20% Shiraz and 25% Mourvedre that all seem to get along quite well, thank you. Top that off with all the grapes coming from vineyards that average 70 years old and boy oh boy do we have a wonderful mouthful of fun. Seeing oak helps put this wines' nose through its paces with spicy cherry and smoky currant that tickle the right spots. The palate sees a front to back covering of black cherry, and ripe raspberry with a little allspice, cinnamon and white pepper thrown in for good measure. The finish shows a well balanced strength but finesse where it need be This big boy speaks with a true Australian accent.

All three wines featured a Stelvin Closure . . . or, as any connossieur of Old Thunderbird calls it, a screwtop, screwcap or twist-off cap (take your pick). Those of us who grew up thinking that only cheap wines had a twist-off cap are having to readjust our prejudices, because the industry has found that in many cases the Stelvin Closure is actually better for the wine than traditional corks or even synthetic corks. I read a fascinating article about it here: http://www.tinhorn.com/page.php?pageID=146&parentID=135.

Of course, when you serve a fine shiraz you don't want to refer to the stopper as a "screwcap" -- it just sounds so . . . ordinary. "Stelvin Closure" sounds appropriately important, slightly mysterious (and no, it wasn't named after a Mr. Stelvin), and no doubt will turn up as a word to be defined in the game Balderdash, along with "runch."