Reconditioning

Reconditioning, or recorking, is the operation by which a chateau inspects, tops up and reseals its old bottles to extend their keeping. The cellar master brings each bottle back to level with wine of the same vintage, sometimes sacrificing one bottle to top up fifty or sixty others. Chateau Lafite Rothschild long offered this service before abandoning it in the 2000s, partly to guard against the risk of counterfeiting.