Anyone know anything about old wine? I have some bottles.

[Gary]

I have some bottles of some early 1960's wine.

They were in my grandfathers basement which is pretty much temperature controlled year round. I don't think they are expensive bottles at the time of purchase but since I helped my grandfather clean out his basement he gave them to me rather than throwing them out.

I was able to salvage 4 bottles of wine that were all dark wine.

1960 something San Martin Zinfandel (dark bottle so not sure how good this one is)
1960 something San Martin Cabernet Sauvignon
1960 Charles Krug Pinot Noir (not sure of the quality of this wine if it can age and get better)
1960 something Sebastian California Barbera Private Stock.

Anyone know if these are still good?

 

[D-Mass]

I say drink 'em!

 

[Kingzrool]

You should take them to a reputable shop and ask. Sometimes things like that are worthy of a special occasion, but you do not want to bust it out on a special occasion if you don't not know it is worth it.

 

[AleksandarN]

try this site


http://www.wine-searcher.com/

If you can not find anything there try your local wine club. I am sure there will be some one that can help you out.

 

[Wuster]

Good advice from other folks already... get them looked at by some experts. But generally such reds age well. 40+ years and they ought to be very tasty and intriguing. Enjoy

 

[Gary]

Thanks I will check out that site. i joined a popular wine forum, but they never sent me my activation. A Moderator has to activate you and they never did. DOH!

 

[Widowmaker2k]

The Cab could very likely still be good (there are a lot of variables here, though), but the Zin probably is past its prime. Of the other two, I'd bet Pinots age better than Barberas, but I'm no wine expert. Most red wines improve with age because the different components blend with each other, and it becomes 'more complex'. From what I understand, however, Zinfandel should only lay down for a couple of years. Beyond that and it begins to degrade. Like I said, I'm not a wine geek, but I know some. I'll ask them what they think.

 

[kennadog]

Thanks I will check out that site. i joined a popular wine forum, but they never sent me my activation. A Moderator has to activate you and they never did. DOH!

Imbibing too much of their own stock.

 

[JoMama]

Older California vintages, IMHO, do not age well. The Charles Krug may be the only survivor. First, they'd need to have been in perfect cellared conditions for decades which most often is not the case. I'd drink them now. They'll probably have to be decanted to filter out the sediment from long bottle aging. Hope you find a gem among the rocks!