How to Tell If Your Old Wine Is Still Drinkable

Oct 24, 2025by David Bachus

🥂 The Eternal Question: Is My Old Wine Still Good?

We’ve all been there... staring down a mysterious bottle from the back of the cellar (or your uncle’s basement) and wondering: is it still magic, or has it turned into vinegar with a nice label?

Good news: great wines — especially Bordeaux and Burgundy — are built to last. Bad news: not every bottle makes it to retirement gracefully. But before you panic, here’s how to tell if your old wine is still good without pulling the cork.

👀 Step 1: Check the Fill Level (Ullage)

The space between the cork and the liquid (called ullage) tells you a lot about how the bottle aged.

  • High fill (into neck): Excellent. Stored well, likely fresh.

  • Mid-shoulder: Still fine for older bottles.

  • Low shoulder: Air likely seeped in; flavor and freshness may have slipped away.

👉 Bottles with pristine fills command premium prices because they reflect perfect provenance and storage and the kind of bottles Weekend Wine curates.

🍾 Step 2: Inspect the Cork and Capsule

If there’s seepage, mold, or streaking down the label, that’s not automatically bad — it just means the cork breathed (which is what corks do). But if it smells musty or the cork has pushed halfway out, the bottle may have been heat-stressed.

👉 If the cork looks dry or cracked, assume it spent some time standing upright or in a warm place — not ideal for fine wine longevity.

🌈 Step 3: Look at the Color

Color is the easiest aging clue:

  • Red wines fade from deep ruby → brick → tawny.

  • White wines go from pale straw → gold → amber.

Slight brick tones in a mature Bordeaux? Normal. Murky brown with no rim clarity? Time’s up.

👃 Step 4: Smell & Taste (If You’ve Opened It)

If you’re ready to pop the cork, here’s the quick aroma test:

Problem Smells Like Meaning
Corked Wet cardboard, musty basement TCA contamination
Oxidized Sherry, nuts, flat fruit Too much oxygen
Maderized Cooked fruit, caramel Heat damage
Sulfur / Rubber Temporary “bottle stink” Usually blows off

👉 Old doesn’t mean bad. That earthy, mushroomy perfume? That’s the beauty of evolution — not a flaw.

❄️ Step 5: Consider How It Was Stored

Storage is everything. Even the greatest 1982 Lafite will collapse if kept on a kitchen counter. Ideal long-term conditions:

  • 55°F (13°C)

  • 70% humidity

  • No light, no vibration

That’s why provenance — the documented history of a bottle’s storage — is gold.
At Weekend Wine, every bottle is inspected, verified, and stored in professional, temperature-controlled cellars. You don’t just get the label — you get peace of mind.

🧭 Step 6: When in Doubt… Open It

The truth? Old bottles can surprise you. Some fade, others absolutely sing.

If you’re unsure, decant gently, give it air, and taste with curiosity. Worst case, it’s a lesson. Best case, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

At Weekend Wine, we take the guesswork out of aging — offering only bottles with flawless provenance, perfect condition, and ready to drink!

👉 Join our VIP List for first access to these bottles and always tariff-free.

🍷 Fine-Wine FAQs

1. How can I tell when a Bordeaux or Burgundy has hit its peak?
When fruit, acidity, and tannins feel seamless — not fading — and the wine shows secondary notes like cedar, truffle, or dried rose, it’s likely in its plateau of maturity.

2. What does a low fill level really mean?
Slight ullage is normal in older bottles. But a low-shoulder fill usually signals air seepage and potential oxidation — a red flag unless provenance is exceptional.

3. How do I tell the difference between graceful aging and oxidation?
Graceful aging smells alive — dried fruit, forest floor, cigar box — while oxidation smells flat, nutty, or cooked. One feels soulful, the other tired.

4. Should I decant very old wine?
Yes, but delicately. Decant right before serving to remove sediment and give it a breath. Overexposure to air can make a mature wine fade fast.

5. Why do some old wines smell musty at first but improve in the glass?
That’s “bottle stink” — harmless reduction from long aging under cork. It typically disappears after a few minutes, revealing the wine’s perfume.

6. How important is provenance, really?
It’s everything. Provenance is a wine’s life story — how and where it’s been stored. Even legendary vintages fall apart if cellared poorly.

7. Can white wines like Burgundy or Champagne age as long as reds?
Top producers absolutely can. Leflaive, Raveneau, and Krug evolve beautifully for decades with the right storage.
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