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Alcan's world-first metal champagne closure is operated by a lever and has cost EUR 1m to develop, the company has revealed.

The Maestro metal closure was officially launched yesterday adorning French vineyard Champagne Duval-Leroy's Clos des Bouveries 2004 vintage, giving the first glimpse of a system that has been touted as a replacement for the traditional champagne cork.

According to Alcan Packaging Capsules, the division that has built the closure, the closure has been in development for three years and its system retains the evocative pop sound of traditional cork closures when the bottle is opened.

Maestro can, the company said, also be dressed in a range of materials including leather and fabrics and opens up almost unlimited decoration options for champagne and other sparkling wines.

News of the new closure broke last month, although neither Alcan nor Duval-Leroy made any further details of the closures public at the time. Alcan would only say that the closure was "revolutionary".

At yesterday's launch, Duval-Leroy Champagne president Carol Duval-Leroy said that the closure issue was "of crucial importance" for the Champagne region of France, where all the world's champagne is produced.

She said that the launch of the new closure would "open the debate" on closures for champagne and demonstrated her own vineyard's "links between heritage and innovation".