I am opening a really old (and hopefully very good) bottle next weekend, and could use some advice from any experts in such…(and without giving away what the wine is, as a few fellow board members will be there and it is to be served blind).
I have had a number of wines from the 20’s-40’s before, and I’d say they were generally decanted a few hours before, but I am personally not sure if this is the best method. So, how I should best approach this bottle?
I was thinking a 6-8 hr Audouze, then into the decanter for a few hours before serving, or maybe even a full decant overnight?
I agree. Unless you’ve had the wine in question several times recently, it’s really hard to know and I’ve had more old bottles that faded fast than bottles that improved immensely over hours.
What you might do is open it very early and taste it. Maybe night before. If it’s good, recork and put in the fridge. If it needs time, leave it uncorked a few hours and taste it again. Then repeat. That way you know the guests will have the wine at the point of perfection. Now if there’s only one glass left, they’ll only have a little bit of that perfection, but have it they will.
Now I’m curious so after the tasting, post what the wine was and what you finally did with it. I hope it shows well!
i do not find sauternes soften and get weak in the way of old reds. This means that significant air and time are required to get the most out of the bottle. I often enjoy the heal of the bottle the next day more than the previous night. I’d open in the morning, smell the wine and determine if it needs the day in a decanter, or if it needs to be recorked.
I would agree with that. Chances are too high that any air time (and decanting or slow-ox is no different in that regard) would make things worse/cause the wine to fall apart.
With a sauternes that old, I think pop and pour is the best method to ensure that you get to try it over its development. I would decant up until about 20-25 years of age.
I can’t really remember having an old Sauternes that fell apart not long after opening (unlike say an old red would), but perhaps it is best to be more cautious…
Paul - I think the key here is the fact you are opening sauternes. I wasted a perfectly good 1/2 bottle of 1950 yquem a few years ago with pop and pour. The bottle showed nothing till the next day, then all the beautiful brule aromas were present. There is not enough time to let the flavors evolve in the glass. JMHO.
pop n’ pour for sure…I had an 1811 Yquem this past december and we worked for 20 min to open it and then it went right into the glasses. These types of wines are much too rare and precious to mess around with slow owing or decanting. Open it and follow it in the glass over the night.
Will all due respect to the folks advocating pop and pour, this is not a good way to treat old Sauternes. I’ve had a lot of them, and depending on the vintage you need to give it at least a couple of hours of air for the bottle stink to clear and for the wine to come around.
John’s prior comments about the 1950 Yquem is exactly the same experience I had with a 750-ml size of the same wine, and remember that 1950 is considered a middle-of-the-road vintage. The experience I’ve had with a number of the 1959 vintage is that they need a couple of hours. If you’re going with a vintage from 1920-1940 that’s considered a strong vintage, I would recommend a minimum of one hour open time.
In call cases, skip the decanting unless you have an issue getting the cork out and have to strain some cork pieces. I’m not attending the event you’re planning, so feel free to shoot me a PM back-channel on which wine you’re serving and I might be able to help a little more. Sounds like a great event in the works!
One thing you also need to watch is the serving temperature. You don’t want to serve it at
a too-cold temperature as you would a young Sauternes. I find that cellar/red wine temperatures
works the best for these wines. Since (depending upon its age), it will have dried out some and
not as sweet as it once was, a warmer temperature works best…and enhances the aromatics/complexity.
Tom
Agree completely. While formal decanting may not be necessary some serious air time exposure is almost always to the good with Sauternes from the first half of the 20th century. The only 19th century Sauternes I have ever had got limited air time and I found the drink only intellectually interesting. I have always wondered if that “dark ice tea” might not have blossomed if served differently.
Any use proper stemware if you really are opening a great Sauternes.
I drank the 36, 48 and 49 D’Yquem within the past year, all showed extremely well pop and pour. IMO, the old D’Yquems are very resilient wines and tend to show more sugars than the other Sauternes of the same period, which I find interesting. Why not open and try a small pour? If you detect any musty old bottle smell, decant, otherwise just serve.
[quote=“paul hanna”]I am opening a really old (and hopefully very good) bottle next weekend, and could use some advice from any experts in such…(and without giving away what the wine is, as a few fellow board members will be there and it is to be served blind).
I have had a number of wines from the 20’s-40’s before, and I’d say they were generally decanted a few hours before, but I am personally not sure if this is the best method. So, how I should best approach this bottle?
I was thinking a 6-8 hr Audouze, then into the decanter for a few hours before serving, or maybe even a full decant overnight?
Any thoughts welcome… [/
quote]
Paul, pm or. email Francois Audouze. He has more experience that everyone else I would guess. Another data point, the head sommelier at Berns who also opens a HUGE number of older bottles is a big believer in decanting wines.
I did not interpret “really old” to mean “ancient and priceless”.
My point was that well aged sauternes is much sturdier than red wine and benefits from some oxidation.
On another note, how was the 1811? I assume the wine was tasted more for the historic element rather than for the current appeal… but do tell, that vintage is reputed to be the best ever.
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