Some old french wine need your advice

[New2Winecollecting]

Hi all have a look at the list below .

they are wines that i found when searching my girlfreinds dads bar. Any standouts. some i just cannot find any info on. there is a MA1830241 number on it as well.

1)Harveys Champagne Pirrot Extra Dry Product of France Age ? no visible vintage but from what he tells me he has had it for 35+ yrs .

2)Bollinger 1975 Vintage Brut

3)Woodley Queen Adelaide White burgundy 1990

4)Arrowfield Shiraz Show reserve 1994

5)Cogno Brothers Cobbity Classic Red 1999

6)Browns bin 60 Hermitage 1999

7)Vicarys Winery Traminer Riesling 1981

St hallet Gamekeepers Reserve 2002 grenache shiraz

9)Jean Piere & co champagne.

any help on these would be great . I am going to indidiaully look them up but i thought i would see what you all think.

[Davo]

Well, you actually only have 1 bottle of French wine and that should still be excellent if well stored.

The Jean Pierre & Co is not champagne but made in the method champenoise and is very cheap, though quite quaffable for the price especially if mixed with cointreau and strawberries, Australian sparkling white.

The rest will be in varying degrees of drinkability, again depending on storage.

[Gary W]

Don't even think of opening the Cogno brothers wine...I shudder even thinking about opening it..
GW

[Deejay]

I have had a 1994 Arrowfield Show shiraz in the last 12 months and while it was on the decline, still had a good amount of fruit and some good secondary characteristics - a good wine - this bottle had been stored in a reasonable passive cellar.

[Mark S]

Hi - the Bollinger 1975 could be interesting IF (and it's a big IF) it's been stored well. As for the rest...well, leave them to your girlfriend's dad.

[Ian S]

Bolly indeed can take some age. 1975 was a lean (but decent) vintage. This is fine as the acidity would soften over time. Broadbent's view on it in the 1980's was good (4 out of 5 stars). Could be excellent, even if the bubbles may start to fade.

Harveys are a venerable UK wine merchant / shipper based in Bristol. Good wines and average ones under their labels. Over 35 years makes it a hell of a gamble, so open it, but have a back-up handy. Don't expect there to be many bubbles left, but it might still be holding up as a wine.

Gamekeepers is ready to drink and should be perfect now.

All depends heavily on storage. If it's allowed to get hot and cold, then the corks could lose elasticity and allow air in. Too hot and the wine gets cooked as well. There's no precise science to this, as some wines (even some bottles) ride out some awful conditions and still yield good wines.

[Adair]

5)Cogno Brothers Cobbity Classic Red 1999
7)Vicarys Winery Traminer Riesling 1981

You obviously live in Sydney or hav esome connection to Sydney to have these 2 amazingly terrible wines.

Gary, why do you comment on the 1999 Cogno and not the 1981 Vicarys - surely this is going to be worse!

Adair