1998 penfold's bin 407 cab

[newsguy]

($22.49) dark garnet, nearly opaque, with slight orange around the rim. extracted, dark red fruits and cedar, with thick, mouthcoating feel. fine, slightly drying tannins. very good wine, but didn't pass my barrelli creek test. i think the gallo sonoma barrelli creek is the best $20 cab on the market, and that's the measuring stick i use for wines in that price range.

but after a night with the vacu-vin, the penfold's showed marked improvement on day 2. the red fruits had become black fruits, and raisins and licorice joined the mix. this added complexity was quite welcome, and think it fortells more improvement ahead for this vintage of the 407. while the flavors seem to have some maturing still to do, i wonder how long the tannins will be able to carry this wine. drink now through 2008, but patience will be rewarded. 91+/90.

[Thomas]

Newsguy, if the wine improved after being vacu-vined it likely proves that the gadget doesn't do much. Oxygen would help a wine like that to improve over time, but vacu-vin is supposed to arrest oxygenation, the theory being that the wine would be as fresh as it was when it was first opened.

[newsguy]

foodie: i agree that the vacu-vin is an imperfect preservation method, but it's what i have. also, i should have added that the wine really came on an hour after it had been reopened the second night.

[Kcwhippet]

Vacu Vin has succeeded strictly through the force of marketing. It's been proven in a number of tests that Vacu Vin does not do what the hype implies. However, there is a product very widely available that does work, and that's Private Preserve. It works by putting a blanket of inert gases over the wine to prevent oxygen from deteriorating the wine any further than happened from when the bottle was opened. You can find it at any good wine shop or at www.wineenthusist.com.