Hey guys, I got this Kinsella Estates 2015 Cab around Christmas time as a thank you gift and have not drank it. I wasn’t planning to do so until a special occasion because it’s probably the most expensive bottle I’ve ever had.
I’m a 26 year old guy who likes wine but knows nothing about it so please forgive me if I sound stupid. I was under the impression I could store this for a long time and it wouldn’t compromise the taste. At a recent dinner, a few friends were trying to convince me otherwise. I have kept it on the wine rack in my kitchen on its side out of direct sunlight. My apartment has likely ranged from 62-70 degrees in that time and will likely never get above 75 degrees in the coming months. I live at 800ft above sea level on the east coast if that matters.
How long can I keep this bottle before it starts to go bad? Appreciate any guidance in advance.
by CootMahGoot
6 Comments
Check the expiration date on the bottom of the bottle.
Years. That’s not ideal, temperature wise, and the kitchen is the worst place you could keep it, but it’ll be fine even there for a long time.
Add it to the “Im looking for an occasion to open this” list. Set aside your storage for a minute. Wine companies and wine publications give some egregious drinking windows, especially for Cali cab, to help justify the high bottle price. I can imagine you saw something for this like “drink 2019-2045”. If you had six bottles, sure space them out so you’re cracking them once every five years to evaluate and maybe if you see a drop you move the handful remaining up to the top of your cellar.
In reality, based on wine style, vintage and appellation, i think drinking this at 10 years is likely the right move for your single pull of the cork. Winemaker TRB cabs are heady, high alch, generally soft tannin making them approachable early but also powerful fruit forward wines that see can see that drop away faster than something else tertiary would materialize. 2015 was a drought year-smaller yield, small berries, not as much fruit. Cali cab- this is not a barolo that you must wait at least 20 years to pull a cork-this was bottled and sold in 2017, on restaurant lists then.
Now bring your storage back in for a sec- 62-75F is certainly above “normal” cellar temps, meaning your wine is less protected and less slow in its aging process. The consistent fluctuations is probably more of a negative factor than if it was just always at 65F.
Also – there’s no reason to wait, life is short and while expensive, this is an upper mid level cali cab. I dont imagine it blowing your mind. More than likely I would bet this would disappoint due to style/age and storage. Find a reason to celebrate and report back. If you love it, you have a winemaker/style/producer to go investigate more (all three of those categories offer less expensive options). If it’s past, you’re not celebrating your first born with a mediocre bottle.
Source: work for this winemaker and made this wine in previous years.
Frankie Valli inspired wine?! Crack it and report back. I love Motown
You can age a cab suv for up to 20 years in the bottle, but you need to choose a better location in the house becous in the kitchen temperature goes up and down. So put it somewhere where temperature doesn’t oscillat to much like pantry or some place dark like that.
I recently had a 2013 vintage of that wine. It was drinking really well.