How long before an open bottle of LBV Porto goes bad?

Typically speaking, for how long is an open bottle good?

I have opened and then forgotten about open bottles here and there. Several have survived six months or so.

It’s not unusual for them to hang around our house for over a month. Younger ones can show improvement after a week or two.

Cool. Last night I ran across a 2005 Graham’s LBV that I opened, I think, a couple months ago. Was kinda scared to even check in on it. Sounds like it might still be fine.

To me they’re at their best within the first 3-4 weeks, and are still very drinkable for probably 2-3 months after that but may not show a lot of difference from a normal Ruby Port. For a sauce they’re pretty much bulletproof for years.

Ha! I wish. Truth be told, I bought it for cooking, and forgot about it in the back of the pantry. Luckily, our pantry is rather cold, so hopefully that helped preserve some modicum of freshness.

Man, you must really be Jonesing for wine to reach back into the pantry for month-old cooking wine. Sheeeeit.

I have some friends who, several years ago, bought a bottle of port to try without knowing anything about it, then sat and drank the entire bottle between the two of them. They don’t remember much else but 9 months later they have their first kid. [wow.gif] He doesn’t seem to show any ill effects from it.

I found it last night when I was reaching for some Cognac for a sauce I was making — I had totally forgotten I had the Port. I will probably give it a go, since it sounds like it might still be fine.

Twist: It was a SAME-SEX COUPLE. That’s Porto Power, baby!

Non-filtered or “Traditional” LBV’s can go a couple of days, IMHO. These also improve in the bottle with cellaring.
Filtered versions can go a week or two.

Took (well, technically “taking”, as I still have some in my glass as I type this) the plunge right now:

  • 2005 Graham Porto Late Bottled Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto (1/26/2012)
    – tasted a couple glasses non-blind –
    – tasted from a bottle that had been open for a month or two, and stored in a dark, cool area –
    – bottled in 2010 –

NOSE: minty spicy dark red berries; hints of cherry licorice and beef jerky; maybe a faint hint of oxidation around the edges, but I could be tricking myself into detecting that b/c I’m aware of how long the bottle has been open; moderately expressive to expressive.

BODY: black violet-burgundy color of great depth; full bodied.

TASTE: sweet, but not overly so – hard to describe the flavor type – perhaps a sweet molasses candy; dark tobacco; concentrated fig; hint of cement-like mineral; embedded tannins provide some grip; short finish; flavors are strongest on the front and mid palates, and rather weak on the rear palate; the 20% alc. seemed to be pretty well-hidden, but for feeling it a bit on the gums, and noticing its effect upon standing up after finishing my first glass; I didn’t taste this when I opened it (used it for cooking), so I can’t comment on how it’s tasting now compared to then, but this certainly does not come across as a wine that has oxidized. Gut impression score (as it drinks today): mid 80’s

Posted from CellarTracker

Yeap. for maximum enjoyment Unfiltered LBV’s 3 maybe 4 days tops. Filtered, maybe a week. Of course they’ll both hold longer but as time goes on they’ll lose their luster and not be nearly as good.