The Mystery of the Cuvinet Solved

We've mentioned the cuvinet system at 116 Crown before. It is said a cuvinet keeps wines served by-the-glass impeccably "fresh" for up to two weeks. It dispenses a layer of nitrogen into the bottle, to prevent oxygen contact with the wine.
I have a hard time drinking wine the day after it's been opened, let alone two weeks, so I just had to perform a little experiment.
We went down to 116 to try out the system. We had mustachioed bartender Drew pour us two glasses of wine from the cuvinet, and two glasses from a freshly opened bottle. We were not to see which was which, but Drew was to keep track. We chose Clio ($$$), because we'd had it before.
It was impossible for either of us to tell any difference from the nose of the wine. There was a difference in taste, but it was so subtle, we had to discuss it for a while before either of us would conclude there actually was a difference.
We guessed the cuvinet glasses correctly. Mo found the cuvinet glass to show less black pepper notes, a Clio "trademark".
With each glass held up to a white board under decent light, we could see that the wine from the freshly opened bottle was a bit clearer. The from-the-bottle and cuvinet wines both had the deep oxblood color.
I can't recommend by-the-glass wines from the cuvinet enough. If you're not out to finish off an entire bottle, this is a great alternative that still gives you a taste akin to a newly opened bottle.
The 2004 Clio normally retails for around $45 per bottle. On 116's cuvinet, it's fetching $9 per glass. This could very well be the steal of the century for a wine Wine Advocate gave 97 points.