OLD AND PAST IT

 We like Champagne at our house .... send us some!

Last week when I was cleaning up and clearing out the basement I found a box of forgotten wines stuck in a corner covered by tools, carpets and an old bicycle.

In the box I 'found' (at the corners of my memory I knew they were there somewhere) some 1980 vintage ports (Warre's) half bottles, a couple of bottles of 1988 Ravenswood Zinfandel, a decanter bottle of 10 y.o. Dalva port and three bottles of Remy Martin Club Cognac. "All good" I thought although the Ravenswood will be stuffed. At the bottom of the box was a bottle of de Venoge 1973 'Cordon Bleu' Champagne.

I've had this bottle since 1987 (37 years) when I was clearing out the basement of an old wine and spirit merchants that I'd taken over as manager. It was among some other old relics that, sadly had been opened (old postwar whiskies, vodkas and gins from the 1960s etc that would have been valuable if unopened and intact. I kept the de Venoge as it was unusual in being in a decanter bottle that had the glass stopper strapped to its side. In 1987 the wine was 14 years old - not old for a vintage Champagne but I had no knowledge of its provenance and didn't know how it had been stored so never opened it to try it.

Well, last night I did. I expected it to be flat which it was but hoped for some old Champagne taste. I was disappointed . The wine was sour like old and very tart apple juice. A shame that.

de Venoge 1973 'Cordon Bleu' Champagne doesn't fetch high prices on the international auction market. I found  it for 52GBP on one site and 250 USD on another - good luck to anyone buying it - so don't feel like I wasted anything by opening it.

1973 rated well in the Champagne vintages but generally, recent tastings have proved that Champagne doesn't last that long:

"Overall, the 1973 vintage for Champagne was fantastic with a fair few age-worthy examples. Although, simply due to the sheer length of time passed, many Champagnes are likely to be past their best. The top examples, however, may still be drinking now although careful research is advisable."

 With my bottle the label showed wear but the cork and muselet seemed to be in good condition. 

On opening, the cork was compressed which is not unusual with age and this exacerbates oxidation.

On their website de Venoge still market the Cordon Bleu range but have put the wine in the standard bottle. The 'decanter' bottle is now used for the Princes range.

The wine as you'd expect had no bubbles and was browned. The taste as I said was sour  (more Granny Smith than lemon and honey) and not worth 'freshening up' with some newer bubbles ....

..... I resorted to an old favourite instead - Stoneleigh Rose.