Selection box of old wine.... is it good or worth much? Pics included

Loobz

Hi all.

So I have been given a selection box of wine, some is 19 years old and I have no idea what they are like or if they are worth anything?

odyssey06

I'd say you wouldn't get many buyers... unless someone remembered a particular bottle for sentimental reasons.

The producers aren't well known to me, and I think most of the wines would have been intended for earlier drinking i.e. the whites especially could be dead after this amount of time.

If I were in your shoes I'd start working my way through them as an interesting wine experiment, be prepared for some undrinkables though. Let them breathe for about 5-15 minutes before drinking if they are cork closures.

And please do let us know the results

Slaphead07

as was said above, the whites are too risky to buy. The reds might be interesting but we're talking maybe a €5 a go. Unknown labels and unless stored correctly they're now vinegar. Wines only have a value of they come in matching case or 12 and even then you'd want a fair idea they were good to begin and had been stored correctly. I've taken a punt on old reds before and had mixed blessing... some anonymous looking new world wines were really interesting and some, that should have been great, were dull.
I'd be inclined to decant them* and give them an hour or so to breath.


decant does not mean anything fancy. A plastic one litre jug and a funnel is all you need. Pour the wine into the jug and then pour it back into the bottle via the funnell catching any sediment before it gets back in. Wine aerated twice, sediment caught. Works for any red young or old. Total cost for decanting set about €4

the beer revolu

Would a shorter breathing time not be better for older wines where oxidation could be an issue?

OP, whatever you do, taste every one before chucking them.

Slaphead07

the beer revolu wrote: »

Would a shorter breathing time not be better for older wines where oxidation could be an issue?

Not necessarily, opinions differ I suppose. It's all a gamble really but yeah, taste 'em all! A good white can be interesting with a bit of age. Not really saleable but worth tasting.

dudara

A lot depends on how they’ve been stored.

I did plug some of the names into Cellar Tracker but I’m not finding any score or reviews to help. To be honest, I wouldn’t have great expectations, but it’s worth opening a few for the craic.

Slaphead07

dudara wrote: »

A lot depends on how they’ve been stored.

Nail. Head.