• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Bottle of wine hiding in my liquor cabinet...?

whoaru99

whoaru99

Epic Member
Digging through my liquor cabinet, way in the back, I find a bottle of wine. Not a big wine drinker and don't recall buying it but apparently so. It's bottle of J. Vidal-Fleury Cotes du Rhone 2006.

What's the likelihood it'll be drinkable?

If so, anything I should or shouldn't do before opening it?
 
Register to hide this ad
Is the cork natural or synthetic? Is the cabinet light exposed? (glass)

It's only about a $12 bottle though so not a huge loss if it's bad.
 
It should be fine. Cook some juicy steak to have with it. It has a synthetic cork, so it is a little more impervious to fluctuations in temperature and humidity, and the improper storage. Nothing to do but try it. Open it and try it before you cook your steaks. If it seems not so good, be ready to fry up a bunch of mushrooms to have with your steak and add it to the mushroom pan towards the end of cooking them (maybe two ounces for a pound of mushrooms). Re-cork the bottle and keep it close to the stove for deglazing and for other sauces.
 
I don't know what the cork is. Haven't pulled off the top wrap.

The cabinet has a glass front but it was way at the back, hidden behind other bottles, and even if not for the other bottles would've received very diffuse light at worst.
 
I aged a case of Cotes De Rhone for 6 or 7 years once and it was fine. According to the thingy hanging on the neck they said it would age for 10 years but I dont have a temp controlled environment and found it tasted better at 5yrs. I gave up on aging wine 10 years ago and switched to aging beer, dont have beer fridge anymore so now I just look for aged beer in stores by looking at best buy dates, also find that dinky stores in small towns are a good place to find red wines that have been sitting on shelves for a few years. With the prices of good beer so high the last couple of years you can have a nice bottle of scotch or rum that is just as cheap if you factor in it contains 4 or 5 nights of drinks in it.
 
Last edited:
Uncorked it 'bout an hour ago. Appeared to be real cork, not one of those rubber jobbies, and it was pretty dry about the top 2/3 of it.

It'd be drinkable if I was hard up, but I'm not. Seems to have a slightly funky aftertaste to me. One glass will be it.
 
Last edited:
Definitely not brown. Not sure what the aftertaste is though; maybe a little musty.

Perhaps I'll try it again tomorrow since there's 2/3 of the bottle left.
 
This is a bottle available through Trader Joe's here in the States for ~$5. It's far from the best the Rhone has to offer, even at the lowest price points. That, plus it's a 2006. This is a wine that is made to drink immediately.
 
JRobCal said:
This is a bottle available through Trader Joe's here in the States for ~$5. It's far from the best the Rhone has to offer, even at the lowest price points. That, plus it's a 2006. This is a wine that is made to drink immediately.
Click to expand...

I haven't seen en example of that @ our TJs, of which there are three w/in a 5-mile radius of me. Do you recall the maker/label, anything that i could mention to the TJ 'wine guy' next time I drop in?

And if you are talkin' "NYC ~$5", that is a tremendous bargain.
 
Speaking of Trader Joe's, my better half found a Grower's Reserve Petite Sirah, California 2013 that is damn good. :drunk: :thmbsp:
 
Trader's has some freaky buys now and then.

That bottle might have survived better if it was lying down, am I right? The cork dries out allowing air in which degrades the wine. Always store them on their sides.
 
Yeah, for long term storage I think laying on the side is better. But, I don't believe it was ever my intent to keep the bottle unopened for nearly 10 years. It just so happened I forgot about it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom