opening a bottle for my wedding anniversary tonight…
I was thinking of opening the bottle one hour or so before arriving at the restaurant to check on it and let it decant before dinner…
what do you suggest?
thanks,
Scott
I think you should only decant for sediment at the restaurant. Once it’s open this can surely change within minutes and you may lose that moment on the interstate. Pop & pour.
Have fun.
thanks, seems like sound advice
Do not decant this wine. I’m just an amateur but open a lot of old wines…in my opinion, it’s a terrible idea to decant.
To be honest, I wouldn’t even decant (into a decanter) for sediment but, rather, just pour the glasses carefully, using a candle or other light source to see where in the pour the sediment begins to move.
That said, generally I see no problem with (and sometimes some benefit to) pulling the cork when you get to the restaurant and letting the wine breathe a bit in the bottle while you have a cocktail/glass of champagne/whatever.
The only bottle of this wine I had was a bit lean but still quite nice. Good luck with it.
And, of course, Happy Anniversary!
Cheers!
Scott,
62 is my birthyear and I had this wine a couple of years ago on my birthday. I agree wholeheartedly with Frank’s advice. The wine I had was sound but, did fade quickly. I will be interested to hear how it fares.
CT - 10/21/2009 rated 93 points: I knew immediately this had been a well stored bottle because there was a beautiful frangrance and perfume eminating from the bottle when the cork was removed combined with a dark, saturated ruby color. Lucky indeed! Drank immediately and it displayed rich sweet fruit, cedar, orange rind, soft tannins, plush texture but a faint,delicate finish. Gained a modicum of strength over the first hour as the tannins began to appear but began to devolve and weaken after two hours with greater acidity, less fruit and a more austere nature. Paired well with our appetizers of boar belly and duck meatballs and interestingly as the acidity over time became more prominent it complimeted our main course of fish (sea bass and swordfish) perfectly.
never had a bordeaux this old. i can see how a classic claret can provide so much enjoyment. bought this on winebid for $60.
Scott
Great note. Thanks for actually coming back to let us know how it went. Don’t see that too often.
Scott, glad to hear the wine was nice! Personally, I love older Bordeaux (maybe not as much as older Burgundy, but enough that I can still use the word “love”) and given the choice would almost always open an even decent bottle from the 50s or 60s than even a top growth or RP100 wine from the past 10 years. Just personal taste (I like the delicacy on the palate and subtlety and complexity of the nose), but it always makes me happy to hear when someone else enjoys them, too.
Cheers!
Fantastic notes, story, and price!!! Wow, I wish I had picked some up for $60! High risk of the bottle being bad, but you sure lucked out, and what a fantastic opportunity.
I’m surprised it took 2 hours to weaken - that’s impressive on its own.
Scott,
Good on ya.’ Glad to see it worked out!