Clive Coates,
MW has stated that "Poorly-performing
corks are the main culprits behind prematurely aged white Burgundy", while Pierre Rovani of
The Wine Advocate has stated the contrary, "corks are not the issue".
Allen Meadows has speculated that "based on what we know today, the most likely source of the problem is cork-related, though it appears this has been exacerbated by generally lower levels of
SO2", while
Steve Tanzer believes it to be a combination of several factors that involve corks,
global warming resulting in
overripe fruit, excessive stirring of the
lees, and insufficient use of
sulfur dioxide. Roger Boulton, professor of
UC Davis, agreed with the probability of multifactorial causality, stating, "there are likely to be both closure issues and
wine chemistry issues, so looking for the [single] answer will be like missing the bus". The French
oenologists Denis Dubourdieu and Valérie Lavigne-Cruege launched a theory that with the recent trends of abstaining from the use of
herbicides and letting grass grow freely in the
vineyards of Burgundy, the grass competing with
vines for water in conjunction with a warm vintage may cause the vines to endure extreme stress. As a result, grapes grown on highly stressed vines may have insufficient quantities of
glutathione, a compound that functions as an essential
antioxidant during the
fermentation process. According to
Michel Bettane, Burgundy producers reacted by taking steps to address the possible causes by heightened scrutiny of cork quality, more awareness of possible sulfur dioxide insufficiency, and a decrease of the practice of
batonnage, the stirring of the lees that adds richness to the wines but also increases oxygen contact. In December 2006,
Jamie Goode published an analysis of the problem of premature oxidation in
The World of Fine Wine and explores some possible solutions. ==Organic winemaking==