• About Benchmark
• Visit Us
• Provenance Guarantee
• Pre-Arrival Wines
• Custom European Sourcing
• Benchmark Membership
• Shipping Your Wine
• FAQs
• Benchmark Affiliates
• Critical Reviews
• Cold Chain

• Provenance Guarantee
• About Benchmark
• Visit Us
• Pre-Arrival Wines
• Custom European Sourcing
• Benchmark Membership
• Shipping Your Wine
• FAQs
• Benchmark Affiliates
• Critical Reviews
• Cold Chain

Provenance Guarantee

We acquire our unparalleled stock of fine and rare wine from well-maintained private cellars and reputable wholesalers, but only when provenance can be verified by our team of acquisitions professionals. Before purchasing a private collection, a Benchmark representative will often travel to the site of a cellar to meet the collector and inspect storage conditions to verify provenance. As a result, we guarantee the provenance of all wines that we sell. If you open a wine purchased from us within six months of the purchase date and the wine reveals signs of damage due to improper storage, we ask that you re-cork the bottle with the remaining wine inside and contact us immediately.

Bottle Conditions

Each bottle of rare and back-vintage wine is unique. When a new collection arrives, we inspect each bottle by hand to assure the overall condition of the cellar meets our strict standards. When an individual bottle has a cosmetic blemish or other condition, our cellar team provides that notation. If no condition is cataloged, the bottle may still contain minor conditions, which are reflective of the bottles value and/or age. *Minor conditions include cosmetic conditions such as nicked labels or chipped wax capsules.

Our staff collectively draws on decades of experience when inspecting the rare bottles we procure. When we cannot authenticate an especially rare and valuable wine, that bottle is immediately returned to the source from which it was acquired.

Following are the terms and abbreviations we often use when describing bottle conditions:

• Cosmetic Conditions
• Ullage
• Other Bottle Conditions

BSL	Bin Stained Label Labels (especially ones that were originally packaged in wood cases) frequently get dingy, dusty, or have markings from their surroundings
BWC	Broken Wax Capsule Portions of wax capsule have broken off, very common with some wines closed with brittle wax
CO	Capsule Oxidation White markings and/or dusty capsule. The term tarnished capsule may also be used to indicate slight oxidation of the exterior of the capsule. Very common with some wines
CT	Capsule Tears Portion of the capsule is damaged, cut or torn
CC	Corroded Capsule Flaking, peeling, or disintegration of the capsule
CWC	Chipped Wax Capsule Very common with some wines closed with brittle wax
CCV	Cut Capsule to Reveal Vintage Bottom half of capsule is cut with a razor to inspect cork through glass - often to ensure authenticity. This is a standard practice with older bottles during the authentication process
DSL	Damp Stained Label Water markings resulting in gray outlines, often the result of high humidity in the cellar
EC	Exposed Cork Top of cork is visible, due to hole in capsule or chipped wax
ML	Molded Labels Signs of mold on label, often associated with a humid cellar
NC	Nicked Capsule Small notch out of the capsule, usually on the top rim of the bottle
NL	Nicked Label Small notches, usually circular
OV	Obscured Vintage Vintage may become obscured due to label tears, staining, or the neck label falling off. However, vintage has been confirmed
SL	Scuffed Label Surface markings
SB	Signed Bottle Signature on glass or label, often from winemaker or owner
TL	Torn Label Through the label to the glass
TTL	Tattered Label A combination of label scuffs, tears, nicks and staining
TSL	Tissue Stained Label Some wineries wrap their bottles with colored tissue, which can stain label underneath
WL	Wrinkled Label Labels can peel or wrinkle, often the result of storage in a humid cellar
WC	Wrinkled/Loose Capsule Capsule is bunched and sometimes loose on bottle neck
WOL	Writing on Label Cannot be identified as a winemaker/owner signature

Ullage is the natural process by which the fill level in a bottle will drop over time. While a recent vintage wine with a low fill should be cause for concern, a bottle at 15+ years of age should be expected to have a less than perfect fill.

Bordeaux Bottle

VTS	Very Top Shoulder Common for wine 10+ years old. Excellent for bottles 20+ years old
TS	Top Shoulder Normal level for wines 15+ years of age. Excellent for bottles 30+ years old
HS	High Shoulder Acceptable level for wines 20+ years of age
MS	Mid Shoulder Not abnormal for wines 40+ years of age
LS	Low Shoulder Rarely brought to market, exceptional situations

Burgundy Bottle

3cm	3cm Good fill for wines 15+ years of age. Excellent for wines 25+ years of age
4cm	4cm Acceptable for wines 25+ years of age, cause for concern for wines less than 15 years old
5cm	5cm Not abnormal for wines over 50 years of age
6cm	6cm-7cm Rarely brought to market, exceptional situations

OWC	Original Wood Case Collectible wood box issued by the winery. To request an Original Wood Case please contact clientrelations@benchmarkwine.com

The following bottle conditions lead our cellar team to take extra care during inspection and evaluation.

DC	Depressed Cork Level of the cork is excessively below the top rim of bottle
RC	Raised Cork Level of the cork is above the top rim of the bottle
SOS	Signs of Seepage When wine has escaped through the cork and out from under the capsule
WSL	Wine Stained Label Refers two situations; first a bottle has seepage that ran down the neck and over the label, second a bottle broke and splashed nearby bottles