These are the eternal questions if you have your hands on a bottle of wine that is 20 years old or older. Not all wines improve with age, of course, and the ability to do so has much to do with the type and style of wine and the quality of the vintage.
What it’s worth is purely speculation. That depends entirely on who the prospective buyer is, assuming there would even be any interest in the wine under consideration.
So reader Pat Mansfield writes:
I have a single bottle of 1978 Chateau Trimoulet Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classe in my cellar and am considering opening it to drink. What is the value of this bottle today and do you think it is likely to be tenable? It has been stored in ideal (quite cool) conditions for many years.
First of all, I have no idea what the value might be. Though ’78 was a very good vintage, Chateau Trimoulet is not what I would consider a “collectible” Bordeaux and I doubt very much there would be tremendous interest in this wine.
If, indeed, there are Trimoulet fans out there who might attach a significant value to this older vintage, finding them would be the trick. Good luck. Establishing a value would be negotiable, i.e., how much does the other party lust after this particular bottle?
Better to just open the wine and enjoy. If the bottle has beeen stored properly — on its side in a cool, dark place the past 25 years or so — there is a better than even chance it will be quite good, though probably well past its peak.
One clue would be the ullage. This is the space between the bottom of the cork and the wine. If the wine level remains in the neck of the bottle, that is a promising sign and one indicator the wine could still be in good condition.
If the level has receded into the shoulder of the bottle, it could indicate problems such as oxidation and loss of flavor and color. Older wines with ullage into the shoulder often surprise us, but the odds have gone up that the integrity of the wine has been compromised.
Ullage below the shoulder? Forget about it!
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