Hi I found 4 bottles of wine in the old air raid shelter in our garden. Can anyone tell me (a)if any of them would be of any value? and (b) would they be safe to drink. Its cold and damp in the air raid shelter and some of the labels have rotted so not easy to read but this is what i can make out on each bottle
Fiuza, 1996, Sauvignon, Vihno regional Ribatejo, this one has a very slight cloudy sediment.
2.1196 Chataeux de la Genaiserie, Coteaux du Layon, Yves Soulez. This has a white, gritty looking sediment.
Southern Cross, 1990, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay. This is clear with no sediment.
Tokaji, Aszu, 5 Puttonyos, 1998. This has an oily looking sediment
] Hi ] I found 4 bottles of wine in the old air raid shelter in our garden. Can ] anyone tell me (a)if any of them would be of any value? and (b) would they ] be safe to drink. ] Its cold and damp in the air raid shelter and some of the labels have rotted ] so not easy to read but this is what i can make out on each bottle ] 1. Fiuza, 1996, Sauvignon, Vihno regional Ribatejo, this one has a very ] slight cloudy sediment. ] 2.1196 Chataeux de la Genaiserie, Coteaux du Layon, Yves Soulez. This has a ] white, gritty looking sediment. ] 3. Southern Cross, 1990, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay. This is clear with no ] sediment. ] 4. Tokaji, Aszu, 5 Puttonyos, 1998. This has an oily looking sediment ]
Hi Eryka,
They should be safe enough. There is probably nothing there of any particular value, (assuming you mean 1996 and not 1196 ) although you don't say who the producer of the Tokaji is.
The white gritty sediment is probably just tartaric acid crystals precipitated by cold, nothing to worry about, it's normal.
The Layon and Tokaji might even be decent. Be aware they are sweet wines. The other 2 are likely dead, but you never know. Try and see, you can always pour them out.
le/on Wed, 04 May 2005 10:46:40 GMT, tu disais/you said:-
Hi, not much. Maybe a fiver or so.
Certainly. They may not be palatable, but they will not be dangerous.
The real risk in them having been stocked in the garden, in effect, is that they may have been frozen, but that would simply kill them, not make them dangerous.
A small area to the NE of Lisbon in Portugal. It's only 9 years old, which although older than one would normally drink a Sauvignon Blanc, isn't impossible. The deposit is slightly worrying, though it would never make it dangerous.
Now this one is VERY old. At over 800 years old, I'm surprised... (no, it's OK, I'm teasing).
I'm afraid I don't know the estate. Coteaux de Layon is likely to be a semi sweet wine. Sediment is fairly normal in white wines, and is excess acidity depositing out. The wine will be better for it. The Chenin grape makes for very long lasting wines, and this one (assuming it's not been frozen) ought to be pretty good. Drink with an apple pie.
Sounds like it might be a South African blend. Don't know it at all.
Odd about the sediment. I've not often seen it in this Tokaji. The wine is the last gasp of the communist regime there. Tokaji Aszu is very long lived, and the wine will be fine. I've still got a few bottles in my cellar. Not a patch on post sell off wines, by the way. It will be sweet, with quite high balancing acidity. It will have a pronounced caramel flavour and would go with a surprisingly wide variety of foods. Chocolate, blue cheese, and most desserts.
I'm not very well up on wines at all and didn't want to make us ill. I think I'll try the Tokaji tonight, its a good an excuse as any to have chocolate for desert this evening.
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