I’m no wino but I know whites don’t age well, which most of these are. Before I give these away to someone locally who would appreciate them, any standouts in the bunch?
by mathbishop
22 Comments
CesarMalone
No offense, but I don’t think anyone will appreciate that vinegar.
EjectoSeatoCousinz
Those are likely gonna be cooked. I’d pop the Bernard morey – you never know.
Glittering-Potato936
Levels are wayy too low they probably werent conserve properly. Worth trying them all but 90% will go down the drain
Similar-Analysis-834
Toasty
CrackWriting
I don’t know where your idea that white wine doesn’t age well comes from, because it’s not true.
I’ve had many bottles of white wine from 15-20 years old that were superb. In my experience varieties that age particularly well include Riesling, Semillon, Chenin Blanc and Marsanne, but I’m sure there are many others.
Sweeter whites last even longer.
That said, I don’t hold much hope for the wines in the photos.
cmmatthews
I’d take the felton empire off your hands. It’s an old winery that used to be near me.
belril
Agreed with the consensus here that most of these are unlikely to be good, but there’s a lot of California wine history in these photos. Personally, I’d be holding out hope for the dessert wines, and praying over the ‘78 Ravenswood (that was Joel’s third vintage, and many of his wines have aged quite well when stored properly).
Mtn_Drew3113
The dehlinger mags may be magical. Several friends of mine in the industry hunt down old bottles of their wines at auctions all the time. Totally depends on if you like old wine, but pretty cool nonetheless.
AkosCristescu
The creme de cassis might be still good for some kir royals 😂
WineNerdAndProud
1958 Louis Martini is insane.
Also, those are some wildly early vintages of Mount Eden Chardonnay. The 1974 would probably be right around when Stephen Spurrier was in California tasting wines for the 1976 tasting in Paris.
The wines are all likely cooked, but there are a few cool ones in there.
The Fetzer zin looks intriguing honestly.
Sharp-Wishbone-1008
If you drink and want to keep some stuff that’s more likely to be better than not the liqueurs (framboise and cassis) are very safe choices as is the port.
dickcake
Those are what we call “a damn shame.”
Particular-Rise-1217
That’s such a shame! Looking at those bottles takes me back into the 1980’s and a little earlier. Very much an older generation of potluck wines. I don’t know how they were stored but really except for the “port” and the LH Riesling’s? Wouldn’t hurt to open the bunch and see what’s still alive if any None of these wines BTW are or were anything fabulous.
njb8199
Some real history there.
KeeverDriveCook
Smothers Brothers and Falcon Crest! It was the 80s after all!
EJLRoma
Wow, that’s like a museum collection of (mostly) California wine history! There are wines there from when California winemakers were still figuring out what Red Zin and Pinot Noir should even taste like! A BV from 1951! That wine was already old when most of the others were being bottled. And what the hell is Spiceling??
Look, the odds that any of them are even remotely drinkable are almost zero. But if you’re in the mood to experiment, the first step is to get rid of the obvious duds. Get rid of the ones with low fill levels, anything with flakes or dust floating in then, bottles that look too watery (sorry, Puligny-Montrachet). That’s probably two-thirds right there.
From there, pick a couple survivors and give them a go. Do you have and know how to use an Ah-So wine opener? That’s your best bet to keep the corks from crumbling. But however you open them, this is important: don’t linger! Pour into a small glass (it doesn’t need to be a wine glass). No decanting, no swirling. In this context, air is the enemy!
First, take a quick look: does it look clean? Then smell. If there’s even a trace of fruit left, take a sip. With luck, you’ll catch a faint ghost of what the wine once was.
If I had to pick one I think would have the best chance to still be even momentarily drinkable, it’d be that Sebastiani late harvest Riesling. If it’s a dessert wine even vaguely along the lines of German Icewine or Trockenbeerenauslese, then the sugar content will give it some backbone. Maybe the late harvest Gewürztraminer as well? I don’t think California Port has anything to do with real port, which is wine fortified with brandy and quite resilient. But look at the label and if the alcohol level is 20% or so, who knows? It might have survived. Some of the old reds (maybe not Pinot Noir) might, might, might be OK if it still has a dark color and the fill level is OK.
The chances are overwhelming that you’ll do everything I suggest and you’ll fine nothing that was worth the trouble. But maybe there’s one chance in a hundred, maybe one in five hundred, that you’ll be final person on earth to have ever tasted, however briefly, some expression of that specific wine from that specific vintage. If it happens, then that’s pretty cool!
Just-Sign-5394
If they were stored on their side in a good cool dark place you have some real gems of history there!! Some of those US chards may surprise you! 70’s was a whole different era in styles — amazing to taste.
OkLettuce338
1957 Charles Krug?
superjeff1972
Wow, you have an instant Cali wine museum
Just-Sign-5394
Might I also add to my last comment, old mount eden may be some of the best wines I’ve ever had! Truly magical.
cohortq
Wow a 1977 Grigich Chard. Made 1 year after he made the winning Chard for Montelena at the Judgement of Paris.
FitzwilliamTDarcy
Assuming they were stored vertically and not climate controlled then yes these are all likely cooked.
22 Comments
No offense, but I don’t think anyone will appreciate that vinegar.
Those are likely gonna be cooked. I’d pop the Bernard morey – you never know.
Levels are wayy too low they probably werent conserve properly. Worth trying them all but 90% will go down the drain
Toasty
I don’t know where your idea that white wine doesn’t age well comes from, because it’s not true.
I’ve had many bottles of white wine from 15-20 years old that were superb. In my experience varieties that age particularly well include Riesling, Semillon, Chenin Blanc and Marsanne, but I’m sure there are many others.
Sweeter whites last even longer.
That said, I don’t hold much hope for the wines in the photos.
I’d take the felton empire off your hands. It’s an old winery that used to be near me.
Agreed with the consensus here that most of these are unlikely to be good, but there’s a lot of California wine history in these photos. Personally, I’d be holding out hope for the dessert wines, and praying over the ‘78 Ravenswood (that was Joel’s third vintage, and many of his wines have aged quite well when stored properly).
The dehlinger mags may be magical. Several friends of mine in the industry hunt down old bottles of their wines at auctions all the time. Totally depends on if you like old wine, but pretty cool nonetheless.
The creme de cassis might be still good for some kir royals 😂
1958 Louis Martini is insane.
Also, those are some wildly early vintages of Mount Eden Chardonnay. The 1974 would probably be right around when Stephen Spurrier was in California tasting wines for the 1976 tasting in Paris.
The wines are all likely cooked, but there are a few cool ones in there.
The Fetzer zin looks intriguing honestly.
If you drink and want to keep some stuff that’s more likely to be better than not the liqueurs (framboise and cassis) are very safe choices as is the port.
Those are what we call “a damn shame.”
That’s such a shame! Looking at those bottles takes me back into the 1980’s and a little earlier.
Very much an older generation of potluck wines.
I don’t know how they were stored but really except for the “port” and the LH Riesling’s?
Wouldn’t hurt to open the bunch and see what’s still alive if any
None of these wines BTW are or were anything fabulous.
Some real history there.
Smothers Brothers and Falcon Crest! It was the 80s after all!
Wow, that’s like a museum collection of (mostly) California wine history! There are wines there from when California winemakers were still figuring out what Red Zin and Pinot Noir should even taste like! A BV from 1951! That wine was already old when most of the others were being bottled. And what the hell is Spiceling??
Look, the odds that any of them are even remotely drinkable are almost zero. But if you’re in the mood to experiment, the first step is to get rid of the obvious duds. Get rid of the ones with low fill levels, anything with flakes or dust floating in then, bottles that look too watery (sorry, Puligny-Montrachet). That’s probably two-thirds right there.
From there, pick a couple survivors and give them a go. Do you have and know how to use an Ah-So wine opener? That’s your best bet to keep the corks from crumbling. But however you open them, this is important: don’t linger! Pour into a small glass (it doesn’t need to be a wine glass). No decanting, no swirling. In this context, air is the enemy!
First, take a quick look: does it look clean? Then smell. If there’s even a trace of fruit left, take a sip. With luck, you’ll catch a faint ghost of what the wine once was.
If I had to pick one I think would have the best chance to still be even momentarily drinkable, it’d be that Sebastiani late harvest Riesling. If it’s a dessert wine even vaguely along the lines of German Icewine or Trockenbeerenauslese, then the sugar content will give it some backbone. Maybe the late harvest Gewürztraminer as well? I don’t think California Port has anything to do with real port, which is wine fortified with brandy and quite resilient. But look at the label and if the alcohol level is 20% or so, who knows? It might have survived. Some of the old reds (maybe not Pinot Noir) might, might, might be OK if it still has a dark color and the fill level is OK.
The chances are overwhelming that you’ll do everything I suggest and you’ll fine nothing that was worth the trouble. But maybe there’s one chance in a hundred, maybe one in five hundred, that you’ll be final person on earth to have ever tasted, however briefly, some expression of that specific wine from that specific vintage. If it happens, then that’s pretty cool!
If they were stored on their side in a good cool dark place you have some real gems of history there!! Some of those US chards may surprise you! 70’s was a whole different era in styles — amazing to taste.
1957 Charles Krug?
Wow, you have an instant Cali wine museum
Might I also add to my last comment, old mount eden may be some of the best wines I’ve ever had! Truly magical.
Wow a 1977 Grigich Chard. Made 1 year after he made the winning Chard for Montelena at the Judgement of Paris.
Assuming they were stored vertically and not climate controlled then yes these are all likely cooked.
But there’s only one way to find out 😉