A friend of mine plans to open a Balthazar of 1984 Field Stone Hoot Owl Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley on Saturday night in honor of his recently deceased father, who purchased the bottle directly from the producer in 1999. The bottle has not moved and has been stored in a proper, temperature controlled cellar since 1999.
I do know know how to post pictures but there is a very minor sign of seepage from the wax top and the ullage is right at the start of the bottle neck.
Based on that description, any thoughts on what shape this bottle will be in when opened tomorrow? Or any other suggestions for this Balthazar?
Jason - corks for that big a bottle are custom made and so poor fits are not unheard of. You really won’t be able to know until you open the wine whether it is sound or not. Older wines can surprise you and seem over the hill upon first opening and then improve with some time open. So don’t give up on it too quickly.
Have plenty of decanters to pour off into and have a back up plan if it isn’t drinkable. Sounds like a lovely tribute.
That was the last vintage I participated in at Field Stone. Please share tasting notes from the occasion.
Those very big bottles are quite prone to seepage without consequence. I opened a 3 L of 1993 Zin two years ago which had seeped a bit so I would not sell it. It was fantastic.
I have heard of people using two wine keys screwed all the way through the cork and pulling them together in order to keep that large piece of bark intact on the way out. I’m curious how the cork extraction went.
In my experience very large format bottles very often have seepage. Sound like the bottle was well stored. My guess is the wine is going to be fine. It will need some airtime.