I want to open this at Christmas. Is there anything recommended to do in the weeks leading up to it, I think stand the bottle up? How long before drinking it should I open? And has anyone tried this particular vintage? Thanks
by georqeee
9 Comments
ndeezer
Stand up for 1-3 days. Drink upon opening, but it should evolve in the glass. The super important part is that you should be prepared for the cork being very fragile. A Durand is your friend here.
This should be delicious. To make it even better, get some Stilton to go with it.
Likes_The_Scotch
I would set it upright for a week and have cheesecloth set aside when finishing off the bottle. I will let the others comment on decanting. It would be recommended usually.
anonymous0745
Helpful:
Durand
Stand up 1-3 days
Also helpful:
Don’t ignore that wine, give it some gravitas, a little pomp and ceremony lol seriously tho
Using some port glasses wouldn’t be out of line…
EggCzar
Agree with the recs about standing it up, and I’d add that more time won’t hurt it–a week or even more would be totally fine to make sure all the sediment falls to the bottom. Decant it before serving; you don’t need a fancy decanter or anything, even a water pitcher is fine, but port can throw a lot of sediment and you don’t want that in people’s glasses. You can serve it from decanter or rinse the bottle and pour it back in.
Personally I’d decant it an hour or so before drinking it, but it’s not a big deal if you don’t. I’ve found they benefit from some air though even at that age. If you don’t finish it, just stopper the bottle and put it in the fridge, you’ll get at least a couple more good days out of it.
oinosaurus
Stand up a week before.
Prepare for a fragile cork. A socalled Durand corkscrew is ideal for the job, but also quite expensive (approx. $145/€130).
There will be lots of residue, so a gentle decant will be beneficial.
If you have a fine mesh strainer, it will do a fine job filtering the worst residue and cork crumbles. The latter is no harm to the wine, by the way.
I would open the wine about 8 hours before service. Give it a decant to get rid of the residue and let it breathe.
9 Comments
Stand up for 1-3 days. Drink upon opening, but it should evolve in the glass.
The super important part is that you should be prepared for the cork being very fragile. A Durand is your friend here.
you already got the answers:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/wine/comments/1h16f28/might_open_it_one_day/](https://www.reddit.com/r/wine/comments/1h16f28/might_open_it_one_day/)
This should be delicious. To make it even better, get some Stilton to go with it.
I would set it upright for a week and have cheesecloth set aside when finishing off the bottle. I will let the others comment on decanting. It would be recommended usually.
Helpful:
Durand
Stand up 1-3 days
Also helpful:
Don’t ignore that wine, give it some gravitas, a little pomp and ceremony lol seriously tho
Using some port glasses wouldn’t be out of line…
Agree with the recs about standing it up, and I’d add that more time won’t hurt it–a week or even more would be totally fine to make sure all the sediment falls to the bottom. Decant it before serving; you don’t need a fancy decanter or anything, even a water pitcher is fine, but port can throw a lot of sediment and you don’t want that in people’s glasses. You can serve it from decanter or rinse the bottle and pour it back in.
Personally I’d decant it an hour or so before drinking it, but it’s not a big deal if you don’t. I’ve found they benefit from some air though even at that age. If you don’t finish it, just stopper the bottle and put it in the fridge, you’ll get at least a couple more good days out of it.
Stand up a week before.
Prepare for a fragile cork. A socalled Durand corkscrew is ideal for the job, but also quite expensive (approx. $145/€130).
There will be lots of residue, so a gentle decant will be beneficial.
If you have a fine mesh strainer, it will do a fine job filtering the worst residue and cork crumbles. The latter is no harm to the wine, by the way.
I would open the wine about 8 hours before service. Give it a decant to get rid of the residue and let it breathe.
For inspiration check this thread: https://www.wineberserkers.com/t/prepping-a-1970-vintage-port/304087
Don’t use port glasses, too small to aerate the wine.
I have drunk several ‘77s, all were better after 6 or so hours. Don’t skimp on decanting.
I prefer hard cheeses (vintage cheddar/edam/Red Leicester) to blue cheese, which I think works better with tawny port.
A muslin is useful to strain the port of the cork crumbles.
This is a decent guide:
https://farehamwinecellar.co.uk/guide-to-decanting-port/