New launch from Supreme Corq

Simon Waller, vice-president global sales, told Harpers that the new closure - the X2 - had taken more than four years of research, at a cost of around 300,000.

He said: The X2 has existed for more than a year, and since then we've been doing tests and trials. The new closure has the same weight, diameter, density and length as the Original, but we have got a greatly improved barrier.'

Waller said that tests carried out by independent laboratory Impact Analytical showed that the oxygen transmission rate

of the X2 was 0.006cc per day, compared with 0.011cc for the Original, and that a year-long trial with a Riesling from Columbia Winery in Washington, USA, had shown that SO2 levels in the X2-sealed bottle were marginally better' than the cork-sealed bottle.

Waller added that the X2 would be 20% more expensive than the Original, but did point out that wine producers would not have to modify their bottling lines as a result. He also said that

the Original will not be phased out.

The X2 is available in any colour, and has a new wood-grained print option.

• wine