Decant Advice Please - 1977 Gould Campbell VP

[Mike S a i]

I recently picked-up a bottle of 1977 Gould Campbell VP with plans to open it the night before my upcoming wedding. I don't have much experience with aged VPs, but I thought this might be something nice to open with my groomsmen - especially because '77 was my Best Man's birth year.

After reading notes on CellarTracker and FTLOP, I'm thinking that a decant might be a good idea. Because of our hectic schedule the day before the wedding, I only have a few choices on decant times so tell me what you would do.

A. Short decant - open before rehearsal dinner and consume when we get back - approx. 5 to 6 hours.
B. Open in the morning before the two hour drive to Monterey. Decant, swirl in decanter to expose the wine to air, let sit as long as I can before we have to go (probably 1 to 2 hours) and then decant back into the bottle for transport.
C. 24 hour decant - open the night before, let sit in decanter over night and then decant back into bottle for transport. FYI, not having much experience with fortified wines, this seems crazy given the wine's age - but it looks like this port could probably handle it after reading the reviews.

Thanks for your help!
Mike

[Frederick Blais]

I'd be a plan A.

[Andy Velebil]

Mike,

Congrats on the upcoming wedding. I'd also go with plan "A" as it will probably be the best course of action.

I've also sent you a private Message

[Tom Archer]

Umm..

I'd go with plan 'D'

- the '77's can sometimes take ages to compose themselves after decanting, and don't deteriorate with any speed if they're in a proper decanter that has a stopper; so I'd play safe.

- decant the wine a couple of days beforehand, pour a small glass a few hours later to make sure it's OK (tough work - but someone has to do it..!) and then keep the decanter somewhere nice and cool (but not too cold) until the appointed hour.

Enjoy!

Tom