My experience with opening old vintages (40 to 50 years old) is limited to Italian wine, but I have some friends who have been pushing me to get into old rioja. I have a couple of bottles of gran reserva from the 1970s I plan on opening this weekend and wanted to see if anyone had any tips? Decant time, slow ox v fast ox, serving temp, glassware? Cork appears in good shape on one, maybe a little soaked (half way) on the other.
What I have found works the best (YMMV)
Pop and pour
Don’t be in a hurry to drink it (maybe pour another “drinking wine”)
Take notes on how it evolves over an hour or two+.
Post results here.
Thanks for the tips. Zalto burg glass should work, or too much ox? Will definitely be posting TNs.
I would not use Zalto burg glasses. I use either Zalto Universal or Riedel vinum Bordeaux.
It should not have too much sediment, so really no need to decant. Just open a bit early and allow to open in the glass. I like old rioja a little below room temp.
I’ve found many old Riojas really need and benefit from air. I’ve had many examples where the wine seemed DOA on opening and blossomed after 2-3 hours of air. So I would allow plenty of time. I would personally open 2 hours ahead and try a sip. if seeming pretty ready to go, cork it and serve when you are ready to drink. If pretty closed or even dead feeling, I personally would do a gentle decant (I usually do a double decant). I can’t remember having one from the 70’s that faded away with exposure to air. For me older Rioja, and older Barolo are the two wines that are most likely to shock you with how much they can transform when given the chance to air for a while.
I would Audouze it. Open in the morning (hopefully with a Durand to minimize old cork issues), test the nose, then either reinsert a cork or not based on what you find. Let it gently come back to life, then enjoy in the evening.
Glassware I would go Zalto Universal if you’ve got it, a high-end Bordeaux glass if not.
Thank you for all the advice! I have Zalto universals and some good handblown bourdeaux glasses I will try.
I would agree on opening maybe just a bit early then following over a couple of hours. one thing to remember about Rioja is that they get aged at the winery so long that in my experience they dont end up needing decanting for sediment really, it all settles out during the barrel aging.
Not to hijack this thread, but I also have an older bottle of Rioja (1954) I need a bit of help with. Same tips as above good for this bottle? I’ll likely need to decant for sediment, but consensus seems to be pop and pour (after the quick decant).
as above, many folks would say no need to decant as likely not a lot of sediment. I would just say make sure you allow enough time for the wine to evolve (don’t pour it around for 8 people and be done with it). It may open up fine and gradually fade, or might just be over the hill, but more likely it will open up as half dead, then blossom over the next two hours. A lot of this depends upon which Rioja(s) you have. the last rioja from the 1950’s that I had tasted like a wine from the mid 90’s–pretty fresh and alive.
I bought some 70s wines at auction. I think they sat somewhere for many years and were very upset when traveling. I opened bottles 3, 6 and 12 months after receiving them and they were progressively better. I didn’t pop and pour, but was not in a big hurry to serve any of them. If I get some that old again I will let them sit for at least a year.
I usually stand up the bottle a day before, some might have minimal sediments. I open the bottle 2 to 3 hours before serving, then enjoy its evolution. I’ve used Grassl Liberte for glassware. Full disclosure I’m a Grassl Glass distributor.
Old white Riojas need a bit more time to come around for me, so I open them up 4 hours in advance… at least.
Best pairing for these old reds have been grilled fish, like Basque rodaballo (turbot).
I’ve had a fair number of these in my life, going back to the 20s. We never decanted. The corks can often be a problem so be careful with those. And they show both bottle funk and Tempranillo funk. But I’ve popped and poured at home, at friends, and at the wineries. And you don’t need to decant for sediment either, as those wines have generally been racked pretty well.
As far as glassware, whatever blows your hair back. Once it’s in your mouth it won’t matter anyway. Good luck!
no real need to decant for sediment with these wines. stand it for a day or so if you want to but they are pretty clarified and settled out by the oak aging regimen required.
No, no consensus for p’n’p … slow ox for several hours and decant only 10 min before serving …
Just had an old style 1955 Richebourg with 8cm of low fill … came back to life beautifully that way…
TN: Bodegas Corral Gran Reserva 1975. Uncorked and allowed to sit for at least an hour while we drank a great GSM from columbia valley. First pour was a beautiful ruby with garnet edges. Does not look like a wine of this age. Nose was very powerful, with plum, leather, limestone, and bramble. Tannins were present but subdued, balanced acidity. Lots of secondary mineral and herbaceous notes with the fruit somewhat hidden. Not much power and a rather short finish.
We all felt it needed more time to open up. Opened an unusual red from Alto Adige (actually pretty decent). After about 3 hours we tried it again (4 hours total time post cork). Now the wine had really opened up. The palate was now matching the nose, with ripe plum, dark cherry, chalk, leather, an almost caramel note (some described it as a hint of tawny port). I wish more of the fruit survived, but it still had decent overall balance. Rather short finish was a little disappointing.
Tried it again about 2 hours later (Finishing the bottle). Had definitely begun to decline. Nose was considerably muted. Would not call this a particularly lively wine (dominated by secondary and tertiary notes with low, but balanced, tannings and acidity), but it tasted as if it had fallen asleep by hour 6 post cork.
Still, a very interesting wine with some truly great moments. Definitely worth a try. I’ll report back on the 1978 when I open it this weekend with the same group. 91/100
Not nearly as old, but I opened an '08 last week that still had tones of vibrancy. It was drank from wine cellar fridge temperature. I’ve lost my Durand, but you definitely need something like that or you’re going to have a bad time… or if you have some port tongs? Wine was great right out of bottle, but definitely opened up over the course of the evening.
I recently opened an older port that just had crazy sediment (wine was still good) but definitely bring a flashlight to see if you can pour off as much as possible. It may be hard with the darker tinted glass.
Agree with what’s mentioned above. Anything over 20 years old I stand up the night before.
nice !
I like when people put their decanting times in their TN and update the review as the wine evolves over time and you become drunker
Agreed. And to me it’s not always clear whether it’s the wine that’s evolving, or if it’s the person drinking the wine that’s evolving. It’s hard to rule out the idea that our taste buds “adjust” and “acclimate” to a wine as we have more tastes (along with the ever-present possibility that the effect of alcohol plays a role).
This is actually not it at all. Most of the time when I open an older wine, and it seems dead, and I decant or double decant it, come back to it later on and find it dramatically transformed, I haven’t had any wine in the meantime. I usually open these wines 2-3 hours ahead of time and generally don’t start drinking at 3 in the afternoon. Are you claiming that the initial sip of a dead seeming wine suddenly transforms me so that everything then smells and tastes wonderful? I ofter wonder in these discussions how much old Rioja/Barolo/etc folks making this claim drink.