The Auswine Forum

Hello Everybody
I recieved a Penfolds 2002 St Henri for Xmas, and have a question about wine leakage.
This bottle is not leaking now, but i am concerned about a small amount of wine (less than a drop) that appears to be dried on the top of cork, beside one of the little holes on the Penfolds seal. I am new to the "wine game" and just wanted feedback to see if this is normal? or of concern? As i said, it is virtually nothing, it appears to be not new, and is not leaking now, but should i return it to the company it was purchased from, or is it just a normal thing? Any feedback would be great...
Thanks
Tony

When do you plan to drink it Tony?

If you are going to open it very soon I probably wouldn't bother taking it back - if the fill level is still well into the neck I would doubt it's been fried enough to significantly damage it (unless its really been abused), and if it is a little advanced it would probably not be a bad thing in a way (as St. Henri is usually a 10 year plus prospect). If it does turn out to be oxidised when you open it, at that stage I'd keep the rest of the bottle intact and make arrangements to have it replaced (below).

If you do plan on cellaring it for some time there may be a question mark whether the cork will go the distance, so if you're really concerned either take it back to the place of purchase or contact Penfolds Customer relations to have it replaced. They're pretty good in this regard so I doubt you'll have any problems.

As I mentioned before if the fill level is still well into the neck (especially just below the capsule) the small leak may just have been a one-off due to an overfill. There are some here on the forum who will swear this still damages the cork and will affect the long term cellaring viabilty, but I've found quite a few bottles have been just fine - the big proviso is that they stop leaking and that they are kept in a good cellar for their entire storage life.

Cheers,
Ian

I wouldnt be too worried about this if as you say its only a small amount. Wine can sometimes push around the cork soon after bottling due to residual CO2 from the bottling process, especially if they are laid down straight away. I have this on good authority from several winemakers.

You could always take the capsule off entirely and have a look. That's probably the best solution if you're intending to drink the wine at some stage. It's not so easily saleable in this condition, but then we're only talking about one bottle of St Henri...
cheers,
Graeme