May 27 2011

I found a 1977 (30 years old) bottle of California Pinot Noir wine. What is the chance it is still drinkable

Published by at 1:45 pm under pinot noir wine

was stored on it’s side all the time and kept cool.

i saw a ’77 napa valley pinot noir on winebid.com. it’s going for 55 dollars at the moment so it’s probably not the most decadent thing on the planet, but i’d assume it’s still drinkable. wikipedia says that pinot from the burgundy region of france can reach its peak 15 to 20 years after the vintage, but i can’t be certain the same would hold true of a california pinot. certainly worth popping the cork to find out…

7 responses so far

7 Responses to “I found a 1977 (30 years old) bottle of California Pinot Noir wine. What is the chance it is still drinkable”

  1. # algal04on 27 May 2011 at 7:23 pm

    Wine only gets better with age. As long as it pops when you take out the cork, then it should be great. Hope you enjoy your wine.
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  2. # P-renton 27 May 2011 at 8:10 pm

    Pretty good if it was kept as you say.

    You will undoubtedly need to decant it. Decanting, if you were unaware, is the process of pouring the wine into another container slowly so as to leave the silt left in the bottom of the bottle.

    Also, after decanting, you will need to let it breathe for a few hours before trying to drink it.

    If you do these things it will most likely be quite good. There is however always a chance that it will be horrible tasting, in which case the wine as corked and you will need to throw it away.
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  3. # beastseeksbeautyon 27 May 2011 at 8:15 pm

    Most pinots are only good for 5-7 years, 10 at the most. I’d say not likely good.
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  4. # cpson 27 May 2011 at 8:40 pm

    i saw a ’77 napa valley pinot noir on winebid.com. it’s going for 55 dollars at the moment so it’s probably not the most decadent thing on the planet, but i’d assume it’s still drinkable. wikipedia says that pinot from the burgundy region of france can reach its peak 15 to 20 years after the vintage, but i can’t be certain the same would hold true of a california pinot. certainly worth popping the cork to find out…
    References :

  5. # Bert Con 27 May 2011 at 8:55 pm

    I think you have two chances or the wine being drinkable. Slim and None. That being said, open it, let it breathe an hour or or so and give it a taste. If it survived it should be awesome. If it did not (pretty likely) it will taste and/or smell awful and you just need to dump it.

    Bert.
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  6. # liorio1on 27 May 2011 at 9:31 pm

    Keep the bottle for posterity’s sake, it passed its prime about 2 decades ago. If you want to drink one, go to the local wine merchant, plop down about $15 and enjoy.
    NB: Best at 4 -7 years.
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  7. # stephane mon 27 May 2011 at 10:04 pm

    30 years is far too much – I hope you don’t find mud instead of wine – but who knows ???
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