diff --git a/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/notes/NoteMapMerger.java b/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/notes/NoteMapMerger.java
index 061447666..19ec1a13d 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/notes/NoteMapMerger.java
+++ b/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/notes/NoteMapMerger.java
@@ -135,8 +135,8 @@ public class NoteMapMerger {
 			inserter.flush();
 			return NoteMap.newMap(mergedBucket, reader);
 		} finally {
-			reader.release();
-			inserter.release();
+			reader.close();
+			inserter.close();
 		}
 	}