Very old bottle of wine question

[Gary H]

I attended an estate sale this morning at a house which had a wine cellar. Myself not being a wine drinker grabbed a bottle of old wine thinking why not give it a shot if it's old it must be good. My Wife is very reluctant that I drink any, she thinks it will make me sick can a wine expert give me their opinion before I dig in to this bottle? See the pic below the wine is pretty old. If it is good to go for a drink how would you drink this kind of wine room temp or cold?

 

[ouch]

That's a '36 Margaux, baby. Margaux is one of the best wines ever made.

The bad news- if it wasn't properly stored, it's probably shot.

You may want to do a bit of research before you pop that cork.

 

[ouch]

If you could repost that pic with a mark at the level of the fill, it would be helpful.

 

[Gary H]

Is the fill level where the wine is at the neck?

 

[ouch]

The fill level is how much wine is in the bottle. Mark it to show how far up the bottle the top of the wine is.

 

[Gary H]

Here are some pics of the fill level.

 

[ouch]

That's really not all that bad for a pre-war wine. It's called ullage.

If I were you, I wouldn't open it.

 

[Gary H]

Thanks for the advice I will put it up on a shelf as a display piece. My Father bought two cases of old scotch whiskey from the same sale it should be safe to drink.

 

[Oscroft]

There's a bottle for sale here for €1,103, which is about $1,400 - but the fill level is "very top shoulder" and it will almost certainly have been perfectly cellared and there's some degree of dealer guarantee.

 

[Oscroft]

Thanks for the advice I will put it up on a shelf as a display piece

Lay it down on its side! If it happens that it is still in good condition, leaving it standing upright will eventually ruin it.

 

[Doc4]

Thanks for the advice I will put it up on a shelf as a display piece. My Father bought two cases of old scotch whiskey from the same sale it should be safe to drink.

He may have meant "I wouldn't open it" in the "... I'd stick it in a proper cellar on its side ASAP and contact a wine auctioneer" sense rather than the "... unless you have a gasmask handy" sense.

 

[Gary H]

I noticed all of the wine in the cellar was stored on racks on their sides. Another patron at the sale told me wine that is not stored on it's side will go bad. I wish I could go back and buy the entire cellar at $2.50 per bottle bad or not it would have made for a great collection.

 

[Legion]

I noticed all of the wine in the cellar was stored on racks on their sides. Another patron at the sale told me wine that is not stored on it's side will go bad. I wish I could go back and buy the entire cellar at $2.50 per bottle bad or not it would have made for a great collection.

Could have been a great earner. Yes, store it on its side so the cork stays wet. Keep it somewhere cool, with non fluctuating temp, if possible, and away from strong light. Personally, I would try and sell it, since you are not going to drink it. A collector may pay good money.

 

[Oscroft]

Personally, I would try and sell it, since you are not going to drink it. A collector may pay good money.

Yep, I'd do the same, even as a Bordeaux lover. 1936 was a poor vintage (as was most of the decade), and even if in good condition the wine will be well past its best. But the stuff is scarce, and it's probably worth a lot more to collectors than to drinkers.

 

[Mick]

sell it, don't open it.

A friend ran across the same kind of deal except it was Courvoisier Napoleon that was bottled in 1921 (after 20 years in the cask)

I pleaded with him to NOT opening but he did.

It was the BEST cognac I have ever tasted and the empty bottle still looks cool and reminds him of the money he lost when he opened it.

 

[patrickthebassbash]

Wow, quite a find! I used to sell wine many years ago but have forgotten a lot of my wine knowledge, however if I'm not mistaken this is a first growth wine, and as many have mentioned probably worth quite a bit of money. I had a bottle of first growth wine myself at one time, which I believe cost me about $80 a couple of years after it's release, as well as several other very nice bottles in my collection. I had recently quit drinking and decided that it was better not to have the temptation of the wine sitting around during my early sobriety, and gave my collection to my sister. I later discovered that she used a $40 half bottle of Eiswein to marinate a chicken, and her husband had made wine coolers out of the first growth wine. I STILL regret giving that collection to her! So, as some have mentioned, you may want to see that it goes to a good home. By the way, I do recall many years ago during my wine selling period we opened a bottle of 1840 Madeira Port at the office. It was about half leese (spellcheck? It's like crust) but tasted WONDERFUL!!!

 

[ouch]

Here's a Ch. Margaux in double magnum from a decent (but shamelessly overated by The Wine Spectator) vintage. I loved their '82, '83, '85, '86, '89, and '90.

 

[Gary H]

I am thoroughly impressed with the amount of wine knowledge present here especially you Mr Ouch. I have posted many questions here in regards to subjects I have zero knowledge of and it never fails someone here has the answer.