Just before Thanksgiving, I discovered a mixed case of bottles that 3 years ago was thrown together for a move. Inside was a single bottle of 1993 Stag’s Leap Petite Syrah.
So tonight’s Thanksgiving dinner, with backup bottles at hand, I opened it…
I was shocked how good it was (and good with turkey). 31 years was not too old. The only rival in my experience and in my budget was a bottle of 1985 Louis Martini Cab that had sat as a totem–upright–in my parent’s root cellar.
In both cases, the cork was iffy, but no TCA or other spoilage. Just unwound fruity goodness. With the SL, the blackberry was still vibrant. It made the meal special trying to remember where the bottle came from.
Today I looked in my basement for a zin to go with the brisket. The first bottle of zinfandel I grabbed had ullage to the joint between neck and shoulder. I must have placed it where I would use it first in some future time. Santino Fiddletown 1979, so older than yours by a bit. The cork was clean but dry, required loosening by an ah-so with extraction by a screwpull. The wine had no trace of oxidation, full deep color, and great fruit. I think it survived the 40 plus years since I purchased it by lying undisturbed on its side as far from the furnace as could be in my basement. I have a vague memory of owning a 1959 Borolo but I haven’t seen the bottle in a decade. Maybe next year?
CCE
(Keyrock the unfrozen caveman lawyer; your world frightens & confuses me)
6
Nice!
I pretty much only buy mass market stuff around $25 or less, and it tends to go sour within about 5 years.
Like @MsBean said, I’d test and toss if need be. Except the one time, I had just gotten it at the beverage mart that afternoon, and hadn’t noticed the vintage. I never get receipts there but they know me well enough and happily exchanged.
Oldest whites I had were from the early 80s, among them an amazing Riesling. Wonderfully complex. This was in 2004, and we were worried the wine may have turned to vinegar in the meantime.
i normally drink maybe 2 years old or something. i believe most Wines are intended to be drunk young bc young WInes still maintiain its fruit While older Wines Will lose its fruit overtime.
i read that it’s only extra special very dark intense Wines that are supposed to age because age Will melloW out the strong intense flavors. once the intense harsh stuff melloWs out, you are able to actually taste all those other parts of the Wine that WOuld be overpoWered by the harsh stuff.
But i don’t Want to spend a lot on the really expensive stuff intended to age bc of the storage costs in addition to the price of the WIne and i dont knoW WHat i’m buying and WOn’t knoW until years later WEhen i taste it. not sure if poeple that buy and age Wines have the same theory of aging.
Yesterday started Whole Foods 12 Days of Cheese. It’s the only time of year I splurge for $40 a pound cheese (35% off with Prime). I went looking for the 1959 Barolo but came up with a bottle of Ch. Prieure-Lichine 1978 with a low neck ullage. It was in perfect shape except for a slightly fragile cork. Bread was a cranberry raisin hazelnut thing, toasted and buttered. MMMMMMM.
