How to preserve my port

[Chelse]

Hi, today I received my purchase of a bottle of Dows 1970 port, when I received it the wax seal had broken off, then Tony astonishment as I checked the cork because it looked a bit cruddy it literally just fell in ( I really do mean it just slithered in) what can I do as it was for a 50th birthday present not until November!

[JacobH]

That's a tricky one. Try not to let too much air into the bottle by doing anything which would move the liquid around.

Since you only want to preserve it for a few months, my instinct would be to seal it (e.g. with another cork or better something that will make an airtight seal) and put it in the fridge now. I might be tempted to leave it like that until November but there might be an argument for decanting it off the dead cork and resealing it.

[JacobH]

Also, if you bought this from a wine merchant I'd have a chat with them since as a retail customer you should expect it to be free from defect. I appreciate most posters here are less bothered about damaged corks etc. but that's because they are drinking considerably more Port than the average consumer...

[PhilW]

Hi Chelse; I'm afraid I would not be as optimistic as Jacob's reply regarding the potential to be able to save this until November. Without trying to work out why the cork fell in, if we assume the wine is in perfect condition right now, the fact that the cork is no longer sealing the bottle means that the wine is exposed to air. Realistically, that means the wine will be great for a couple of days, but then degrade quickly.

I would suggest telling your friend what has happened and giving them the bottle tomorrow, if that is possible, so they could get pleasure from it while it is at its best even though it's in advance of their actual birthday (or alternatively drink it yourself and/or with friends and buy a replacement for your friend's birthday).

[Chelse]

Hi Thanks for the advice, I was tempted just to give as an early birthday present, but the seller is going to refund me, so all good in the end.
I just hope I will be able to get a 1970 port for £100 again

[JacobH]

I’m glad to hear it. Assuming you are not expected to send it back, please do drink it: it will probably be perfectly drinkable. I’d suggest decanting it off the bits of cork etc. into a jug or decanter first through a coffee filter or something similar.

A touch above your budget but if you want a 50-year-old wine which has been freshly bottled, I noticed this 1970 Palmer Colheita is £129 for a 50cl bottle. This will have been kept in barrels in Oporto since 1970 and then bottled recently for drinking so you shouldn’t have any problems with dodgy old corks.

[JacobH]

Hi Chelse; I'm afraid I would not be as optimistic as Jacob's reply regarding the potential to be able to save this until November. Without trying to work out why the cork fell in, if we assume the wine is in perfect condition right now, the fact that the cork is no longer sealing the bottle means that the wine is exposed to air. Realistically, that means the wine will be great for a couple of days, but then degrade quickly.

Whilst now academic, I was thinking that if a cork fell straight in, there wouldn’t be much exposure of the wine to oxygen if you promptly re-sealed the bottle (as opposed to when you pour a glass for drinking) and so it could be preserved for longer. It’s not too far removed from re-corking which I think has been carried out with some success on some VPs.

[Andy Velebil]

Hi Chelse; I'm afraid I would not be as optimistic as Jacob's reply regarding the potential to be able to save this until November. Without trying to work out why the cork fell in, if we assume the wine is in perfect condition right now, the fact that the cork is no longer sealing the bottle means that the wine is exposed to air. Realistically, that means the wine will be great for a couple of days, but then degrade quickly.

Whilst now academic, I was thinking that if a cork fell straight in, there wouldn’t be much exposure of the wine to oxygen if you promptly re-sealed the bottle (as opposed to when you pour a glass for drinking) and so it could be preserved for longer. It’s not too far removed from re-corking which I think has been carried out with some success on some VPs.

The problem is they sparge the top with a gas to remove the oxygen in the head space. Just recorking it with a cork in your drawer won’t do that.

Glad the seller refunded your money. An excellent merchant, whoever they may be.

[JacobH]

I appreciate that this is the modern practice for obvious reasons but wasn’t recorking done before access to canisters of gas without too many problems?

I was going to suggest that if Chelse had needed to preserve the bottle and followed my suggestion the next port of call was a bottle of Private Preserve on next day delivery...

[Andy Velebil]

I appreciate that this is the modern practice for obvious reasons but wasn’t recorking done before access to canisters of gas without too many problems?

I was going to suggest that if Chelse had needed to preserve the bottle and followed my suggestion the next port of call was a bottle of Private Preserve on next day delivery...

I don’t know how many companies made it a regular practice to recork many decades ago.

[uncle tom]

I just hope I will be able to get a 1970 port for £100 again

If you're in the UK, I could supply you with a Dow '70 for £100, postage included.

(Oporto bottled, good label, level base of neck, from a stash that's been in my cellar for over a decade)