Is Centuries-Old Wine Still Drinkable? | Hacker News Reader

Is Centuries-Old Wine Still Drinkable?

realclearlife.com

10 pointsrajeck8 comments

Interesting, although I'm not sure the CEO of the company selling the wine is going to be especially objective.

It does raise a question - for wines that a vintner wants to age for a really long time, why would they use UV-transparent glass bottles and cork stoppers? Surely a glass bottle that's opaque to UV light would be better, as would a non-porous stopper. Even in the mid-19th century they had access to those things. Dipping the entire bottle in wax would do the job. I've never seen it done though (not that I'm any sort of wine expert).

How would you do this if you dipped it in wax? > every 25-30 years, which gives us an opportunity to monitor the quality

Also, corks seem to have a life of their own, letting in some oxygen into the bottle.

UV seems to be not much of a problem for them since it all sits in the basement.

These wines have never even left their cellars, so UV resistant bottles aren't really necessary. And uncorking an old bottle is part of the allure. Resistance to newer and more technically sound closures like stelvins (screw caps) is especially strong in the old world.

Yes folks, these wines will still be drinkable. I've had 1929 red Burgundies on more than one occasion and can confirm that aged wine is not only drinkable but enjoyable. I was in Bouchard's cellars last November and can tell you that their storage facilities are top notch.

Salient point (TIL)...

We also check our bottles regularly and replace the corks every 25-30 years, which gives us an opportunity to monitor the quality of the wine.

---- Presumably they are checking its 'drinkability' among its other qualities!

So is it drinkable or not?

I am going to go out on a limb here and guess that at some point during the last 30 years that yes it was drinkable.

Did I miss the part where they answer the question?

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