The downsides of synthetic cork

I was at a party the other day and opened a bottle of wine that had a synthetic cork and my immediate reaction was that it must be cheap wine. But, I realized that I knew that was the stereotype of synthetic corks, but had no idea why no premium or even mediocre wines use synthetic corks. In an effort to gain knowledge before passing judgement, I did a little research that I will share with you.

The advantages of fake cork
1. They are cheaper and not subject to fluctuation in prices as cork supply dwindles
2. They prevent the 'cork taint' that happens in somewhere between 3-15% of aged bottles when the cork has a chemical compound called trichloroanisole

The disadvantages of fake cork (spoiler alert: they far outweigh the benefits)
1. They don't expand/contract with the bottle (wine bottles change shape with slight changes in temperature, so even those this change is very small, fake corks may not maintain a tight and consistent seal). If the cork loosens, you're left with the same tainted wine as the fake corks supposedly prevent - but this is even more likely than the 3-15% mentioned above
2. They can be difficult to remove
3. They don't allow any oxygen in if they are too tight (the opposite point as #1). For the aging process to occur in wine, tiny amounts of oxygen need to be let into the bottle. Synthetic corks are either too tight (so this doesn't happen) or too loose (so the wine gets oxidized)

So, after doing some research, I've concluded that my assessment that, as cheap business school students, we drink cheap wine at parties was correct.