Has anyone ever told you to “put a cork in it”? Well, I asked you about this last year, and I wanted to update you on our corks! One of the wines in this Carneros Club shipment is sealed with the same “micro-agglo” as we used in the Chardonnays, and this wine is our 2023 Carneros Pinot Noir. I wanted to explain again what these corks are and why I like them.

These corks are called "micro agglos" because they’re a modified version of what the wine industry calls “agglos” or “agglomerates” —corks made from larger bits of cork that are bound and pressed together into the shape of a traditional cork. The bits are typically chunks about 3–4 mm in diameter, and they function just like regular corks in keeping the wine sealed. I believe these were originally produced using leftover cork fragments—what remains after standard corks are punched out of cork bark sheets. One benefit of the small chunks is that they’re easier to clean, especially from impurities like mold that can cause TCA (the culprit behind “corked” bottles.

On to the newer product, the micro agglos, which are similar to the regular agglos in that it is again compressed bits of cork, but use much smaller cork particles—closer to 0.5 mm in diameter. It looks more like cork dust, and the final product actually resembles a traditional cork more than regular agglos do. The upside of the micro agglos is that the smaller particles can be cleaned more thoroughly, which removes more impurities. As a result, they’re far less likely to cause off-flavors or TCA contamination. Another major benefit: they’re much easier to extract from bottles and offer a smoother pull.

So far, from the bottles I’ve opened across all three wines where we’ve used micro agglos, I really like how they pull. I also haven’t detected any off-flavors or aromas. The bigger question will be how these wines age. We now see that the 2024 Carneros Chardonnay is tasting really good without any difference in aging from a natural cork. In fact this wine has earned Double Golds in the two competitions we have entered!

Circling back to the 2023 Carneros Pinot Noir, it also has a micro agglo cork, and from tasting the wine I think the corks are working well. The wine has a juicy freshness to it and that’s exactly what I am shooting for! For the other red wine in this shipment, the 2023 Sonoma Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, I have used a natural corks. With this type of cork I know how the wine will age (beautifully!). This Cab is meant to be aged for years, whereas the 2023 Carneros Pinot Noir is meant to be consumed immediately. Enjoy!