Late Bottled Vintage 1997 find

[Mark Tammari]

Hello!

I was cleaning up my old warehouse and I found this bottle of 1997 Late Bottled Vintage Porto and was wondering wheter you could tell me something about it, for example if it is still OK to drink it after 20 years or whether it has some value to it.

(Sorry couldn't figure out better way to attach this photo - click on it for full size image)


Thanks!

[Bert VD]

sure it is OK to drink, i hope it's better than OK

don't worry about 20 years (it's even less. bottled in 2003). if it's unfiltered LBV think about the residue when you open it.

[Eric Menchen]

I enjoyed a few of those in 2008-2009 as they were selling it then on special at the lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia for about 16 euros as I recall. That isn't a premier brand, so I wouldn't expect it to fetch much more than that today if you were to try to sell it. It is certainly worth trying. How good it is may depend on the conditions in your warehouse where it was stored. Warm temperatures and regular variations in temperature may have degraded it.

[Mark Tammari]

I enjoyed a few of those in 2008-2009 as they were selling it then on special at the lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia for about 16 euros as I recall. That isn't a premier brand, so I wouldn't expect it to fetch much more than that today if you were to try to sell it. It is certainly worth trying. How good it is may depend on the conditions in your warehouse where it was stored. Warm temperatures and regular variations in temperature may have degraded it.

It is more worth to drink it rather then sell it in this case, I think. It was basically stored in a large metal cabinet with no way to let light inside, the warehouse itself was rather cold there was no heating either. So these conditions should be optimal for storing this kind of alcohol, right? What would be a good way to store it at home? Will a shelf facing away the window in a living room do?

[Tom Archer]

Will a shelf facing away the window in a living room do?

No, not a good idea - keep it hidden from all daylight in a cupboard or inside a cardboard box.

I'm not sure about 1997, but current Calem LBVs are filtered, which makes wine easier to drink young, but at the expense of being able to age well.

Whilst filtered LBV can still age to advantage to a limited extent, and doesn't go downhill with any speed thereafter, I would suggest that you drink this one sooner rather than later.

- So why not pop it this weekend and tell us what it was like?