I think that your average NV champagne does very well if you age it and improves as much, or perhaps more, than vintage champagne. I’ve done it with the likes of base level Pol Roger and Taittinger and I’ve been very pleased with the results after 6 years or so. Do any of you have similar experiences?
However, I think I may have waited a bit too long with this, which has been in my cellar since my son’s Bar Mitzvah in 1999:
Posted from CellarTracker
Pop the cork and find out.
Aged NV is fabulous with good houses. I have had 15yr old examples that were truly inspiring.
That stuff was awful when it was released.
I am new to Champagne (other than special occasion toast) and am finding that I like the wines very much and the diversity of all the various options.
I find that I like them (various recent NV releases and even some of the vintage ones 02, 06, 08) much better on the second day after sitting in the fridge over night (capped).
Maybe this is a sign of what I would have in 5 years ? Thoughts?
We have been discussing decanting champagne in our wine group and the consensus seems to be that if you have the nerve to do it, you will be rewarded. I have done it once or twice when serving Comtes blind, because the bottle is so distinctive even when wrapped, and I think it makes it even better.
Awful is such a pejorative term. I would prefer to say “A value bubbly from the west coast that was well-received by the civilians in attendance.”
I don’t buy NV Champagne from many producers, but those that I do purchase I try to keep for a few years before opening.
As discussed previously, Krug Grande Cuvee can age and improve for decades. I’m currently drinking bottles that I purchased in '06, and they still will improve with additional bottle age.
I prefer honesty over damning with faint praise. 
Absolutely a fan of aging well made NV champagne. Not only does the wine often improve, it’s a good way of observing the distinct characteristics of the bottling, along with the variations from disgorgement to disgorgement. For instance, a few years ago we had Egly-Ouriet Rosé disgorged in 2009 next to a bottle disgorged in 1999. Both showed beautifully, and though different in a number of ways, were recognizably cut from the same cloth. It was fascinating.
I drink most of my NV Champagne ~3-10 years after purchase. Ive had good bottles out to 15 years but haven’t tried pushing beyond that.
My guess is that your bottle is OTH, based on producer not just age alone. Try it and see!
I would pair it with you can conditioned budweiser. And seems some cellar cleaning might be in order
What a timely thread. Opening this guy today. Age is somewhere between late 40s to 80s based on the label and serial number. Pairing it with fried Vietnamese egg rolls. Fingers crossed.
Keep us posted. I have few NV old ones (one is a 1979-80-81 blend bottled in 88 irrc, the other is late 70’s early 80’s demi sec bottled mid/late 80s). I need to look into those
love Billecart-Salmon rosé w 5 years of cellar time.
But to be fair, it was not a champagne either. What’s the topic again?
The can conditioned Budweiser (a 10+ year old can that I found somewhere in my house) was actually quite good, or at least it was better than fresh Budweiser. Darker in color with a sort of earthy breadth to it.
I’ve had pretty much great experiences overall. Sometimes, they are just a lot less bubbly, but if from a good house, taste like a great old white burg. Some anecdotes:
In the mid eighties the shop I worked in bought a cellar and there were NV mags of Bollinger, from the 60s. We could only sell them as NV, so mags were $45. One of the top 10 wines of my life, still. If you find NV mags from good producers with great base years, you can hit it out of the park with 20 years of age.
My current faves are bottles of Grand Siecle from the 1990s. Since it’s a NV cuvee, you never know what you’re going to get. Thank god for pictures that say “this bottle is 20 years old”. That and “purchased on release and stored in a professional wine cellar”.
'75 Bollinger RD remains my all time favorite champagne. And you can still get some late disgorgement bottles, I hear. '75 Dom was not bad either. It is amazing how tight, high acid, mineral vintages can remain that way until rounded out with 20+ years of age.
One notable failure, 1982 Piper Heidsieck brut sauvage. Nasty in 1990, nastier in 2015. It will be curling your hair for the next 30 years…it was so severe that there was nothing left to become even remotely creamy or rounded. Like drinking razor blades…
Having drunk a good handful of aged NVs, on average those from the 70’s seem to have fallen apart, but those from the 80’s and younger are still alive. Some still kickin’ and some might have nothing more than a weak pulse, but still fully enjoyable. Apparently the base vintage quality and house style are the differences that have contributed to how well the wine is still holding.
Surprisingly enough, Moët Chandon’s Brut Imperial from the early 80’s is one of the best NVs I’ve ever tasted. I’m quite positive you would never get a same kind of wine if you bought a bottle of Imperial now and kept it for 35 years. Most likely the wine would be falling apart in 10.
I’ve had very good luck aging NV bubbly for up to 10 years. Still sticking some away every year - hope my records don’t disappear. Cheers!