Policy on Replacements

Cork Taint
Foremost wine is a natural produce, and the cork stopper is even more so. Cork is a perfect closure in the world in terms of its ability and memory to take on precisely the expanded shape of the inner neck bore of the bottle. That is the physical marvelous aspect of the cork.

At the same token, the cork can also hold chemical compositions and unstable chemical aspects such as 2,4,6-Trichloroanisole (TCA) or 2,4,6-Tribromoanisole (TBA) as well as some organic components, more rarely these days due to the stringent sorting processes. These aspects can lead to the spoilage of the wine. 

We use individually tested corks to eliminate contamination; however, some of the components might be embedded deeper in the cork, as a cork usually comprises nine years of growing the bark. 

Irrespective of the efforts, a cork-tainted bottle rarely presents itself.

i) We do replace cork-tainted wines.
ii) The Client needs to within 24 hours notify us of the tainted bottle, and we will arrange for the bottle to be collected. Please return the bottle with the original cork and the wet side of the cork inside the bottle for collection.
iii) We will replace the bottle immediately.
iv) The results sometimes take up to a month to come back to us, for we send the bottle back to Portugal for a complete analysis of the wine and the cork.
v) If the wine was found not to hold any off flavours or contaminated aspects, we will present the client with the lab report, and the replacement bottle will be for the client’s account.
vi) Only wines purchased directly from us or our trade partners will be replaced; we cannot participate in the secondary market’s movements and conditions.

Oxidation

There are instances where the actual cork density might be out of specification, affecting the wine by taking up too much oxygen through the cork.

With the quality and the grade of corks we use in our wines, it is improbable. The client’s storage of wines and potential variable temperatures and atmospheric pressures have the most significant effect, especially over the long term.

i) We can’t attain what a given wine was subjected to once it has left our cellar, and its actual conditions and provenance have a significant bearing.
ii) We do not replace oxidised bottles because recording or controlling how wines are stored once they have left the property is impossible.

Leaking Cork

 In all our years of bottling and storing our wines, we have never had a leaking bottle at the winery. Leaking corks result from the wines being exposed to variable or high temperatures.

i) We can’t attain what a given wine was subjected to once it has left our cellar, and its actual conditions and provenance have the more significant bearing.
iii) We do not replace leaking bottles because recording or controlling how wines are stored once they have left the property is impossible.

In recent years, there has been a massive migration to engineered technical corks, plastic corks, Stelvin screwcaps and glass corks. However, we still belong to the historical world of wine and have opted to work with Portugal instead to find future solutions to improve the world of wine ageing.