5 tips how to recognize if an old bottle of wine is still drinkable
5 TIPS HOW TO RECOGNIZE THE DRINKABILITY OF OLD WINE BOTTLES
You’ve probably seen an old dusty bottle of wine before in your life, wondering if it’s still drinkable. How can it be that a 1945 Mouton-Rothschild is still a “premier league” wine and lot’s of bottles from the 90s are already turned into vinegar? The answer to that is never simple, but even an unexperienced winedrinker can do the judging.
Here are 5 tips that will help you in the right direction. These tips only apply to bottles over 20 years of age.
1. FILL LEVEL CHECK
Check the vintage and do the math. Is the wine over 20 years old of age, set the bottle up straight and have a look at the filling level in the nek of the bottle. It still has to be in the top of the nek of the bottle. Is this wine over 35 years old, it’s acceptable to lose up to a centimeter. Anything in between will do.
2. QUICK PRIZE CHECK
Search this wine on wine-searcher.com and check the value for this vintage. If this is under 20 bucks, don’t bother drinking it. This wine was never made to cellar up for the long run. Above 20 bucks, it gets interesting. Don’t mind the ridiculous prizes you come across on the internet. These prizes are a result of scarcity and don’t say anything about the quality level.
3. VINTAGE CHECK
Go to Robert Parkers Vintage-Chart online and check if the vintage in the specific origin of your wine has a rating of more than 88 points. Bad vintages have often been to hot, which results in a shortage of acidity in the wines. Acidity is the backbone for wines for ageing.
4. HISTORY CHECK
If the wine has moved a lot during the ageing, it’s never a good sign. Everytime it has been relocated, it cut’s into the quality. Wines age the best in a calm spot, in the dark, at a temperature of 8-12 degrees, in a good conditioned cellar.
5. COLOR CHECK
First of all, check which grape variety you’re dealing with. Some varieties don’t have much color like Pinot Noir of Nebbiolo, so they turn out more brownish in color. Try to see through the wine with a flashlight and monitor the transparancy. Dark colors give away more structure and youth. Wines under 20 years of age with a “tea-ish” color usually are exposed to and exuberance of light and probably have developed in a bad way.
Last but not least. Never judge a wine directly after opening it. Let it breathe for a while and see what happens.
More questions regarding this subject? Ask me!