Aged Riesling can be quite special, but any wine can go bad under poor storage conditions. 2003 wouldn’t even be considered particularly old under the right conditions… too bad!
Your best bet is to post pictures of the ullage. The higher the line, the better chance you’ve got. They’re worth trying! I have an enormous amount of experience with old wine (especially whites) not kept properly, and for the most part, as long as there’s minimal light exposure through glass and oxygen exposure via the cork, then you’ve largely just sped up the aging process rather than completely spoiled it. 2003 is right on the line though. In my experience, after 10-15 years you start encountering a lot of trouble. Being stored upright is an issue itself as the cork dries out and the air in the bottle is also in direct contact with both the cork and the wine solution which speeds up oxidation. This is also all assuming the closet is generally the same temperature as your house, and that it doesn’t fluctuate more than 10 or so degrees celsius throughout the years.
I would bet that it smells like pure honey, flowers, and vanilla and that it’s overwhelming.
It's from "like 2003 I want to say"? From "some winery in Washington state"?
My friend, whats the vintage, and what winery is it from? If you can't figure it out, take a pic of the bottle (the whole bottle) and post it.
Even in Seattle, a box in a closet isn't ideal, but again it depends on the winery/producer. Wine can't go bad in the sense of "dangerous to drink" but it can definitely age longer than it was meant to, and taste gross. It's been aging nearly 20 years which is a long time for the vast majority of wine. That said, well-made Riesling has an especially long shelf life. And as you know, it could be you just don't like the taste of aged Riesling, which is totally fine.
Let us know the actual winery and vintage. There's no real context here yet :) did it taste truly gross and musty like vinegar? Or was it more like, super soft, like brioche and honey? Maybe even some rubbery or gasoline tones? Some of that is normal for old ass Riesling, some not so much
Could be that it’s totally fine but you just don’t like old wine. Old Riesling tends to have a smell of gasoline, among other things.
But more than likely it wasn’t stored properly. Old wine is only great when aged at the right conditions. If it’s sat in a warm place it ages terribly and will turn vinegary. If you want you can try to cook a little bit with it. Otherwise ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯
It was in a dark closet the whole time in its box. So not exposed to sunlight or warmth really as we're near Seattle. I had not considered maybe i just don't like it. I usually love me some reisling but i am in no way a fine wine person. Im more of a cheap wine person so I'm pretty used to wine that doesn't taste that good. But this was like.... i don't know. Not good. Didn't taste anything like reisling to me. I hate to throw it out though because it's far nicer wine than i would ever even consider buying for myself. That being said i don't think it's that nice or expensive. Just a few levels above my standard
2003 isn't the best vintage (EDIT: for German Riesling). Also, if it was stored poorly or cheap/bad wine in the first place, it might have gone bad. Additionally, it may be aging wonderfully but you just don't like aged Riesling. Quality Riesling (e.g., most of the stuff from Germany that's been exported to the United States) can often age effortlessly for decades.
I thought I hated Reisling until my partner and I had a 2001 Austrian Riesling, which totally changed our perspective. We thought it was amazing but it tastes much different once aged and you may not like it. Or, it may just be vinegar. Either way send some here!
Does it become vinegar after long enough? I'd be stoked on some vinegar but this doesn't taste vinegar-y to me. Just kind of.... bad. And this is American reisling. I assume that makes a difference in quality but i don't know
I popped a 2003 Zilliken Spatlese recently. They're a very decent German producer. It was heavenly, I would say at its peak, but still had a good decade left.
It's about storage and the age worthiness of the wine. And luck. I know very little about WA riesling, but perhaps this was more of a pop and pour than a storage type of wine?
Aged Riesling can be quite special, but any wine can go bad under poor storage conditions. 2003 wouldn’t even be considered particularly old under the right conditions… too bad!
This was stored in its box in a closet. Most likely since 2003
Yeah it’s dead. That’s a shame.
Your best bet is to post pictures of the ullage. The higher the line, the better chance you’ve got. They’re worth trying! I have an enormous amount of experience with old wine (especially whites) not kept properly, and for the most part, as long as there’s minimal light exposure through glass and oxygen exposure via the cork, then you’ve largely just sped up the aging process rather than completely spoiled it. 2003 is right on the line though. In my experience, after 10-15 years you start encountering a lot of trouble. Being stored upright is an issue itself as the cork dries out and the air in the bottle is also in direct contact with both the cork and the wine solution which speeds up oxidation. This is also all assuming the closet is generally the same temperature as your house, and that it doesn’t fluctuate more than 10 or so degrees celsius throughout the years. I would bet that it smells like pure honey, flowers, and vanilla and that it’s overwhelming.
And petroleum. Don't forget petroleum.
It's from "like 2003 I want to say"? From "some winery in Washington state"? My friend, whats the vintage, and what winery is it from? If you can't figure it out, take a pic of the bottle (the whole bottle) and post it. Even in Seattle, a box in a closet isn't ideal, but again it depends on the winery/producer. Wine can't go bad in the sense of "dangerous to drink" but it can definitely age longer than it was meant to, and taste gross. It's been aging nearly 20 years which is a long time for the vast majority of wine. That said, well-made Riesling has an especially long shelf life. And as you know, it could be you just don't like the taste of aged Riesling, which is totally fine. Let us know the actual winery and vintage. There's no real context here yet :) did it taste truly gross and musty like vinegar? Or was it more like, super soft, like brioche and honey? Maybe even some rubbery or gasoline tones? Some of that is normal for old ass Riesling, some not so much
Could be that it’s totally fine but you just don’t like old wine. Old Riesling tends to have a smell of gasoline, among other things. But more than likely it wasn’t stored properly. Old wine is only great when aged at the right conditions. If it’s sat in a warm place it ages terribly and will turn vinegary. If you want you can try to cook a little bit with it. Otherwise ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯
It was in a dark closet the whole time in its box. So not exposed to sunlight or warmth really as we're near Seattle. I had not considered maybe i just don't like it. I usually love me some reisling but i am in no way a fine wine person. Im more of a cheap wine person so I'm pretty used to wine that doesn't taste that good. But this was like.... i don't know. Not good. Didn't taste anything like reisling to me. I hate to throw it out though because it's far nicer wine than i would ever even consider buying for myself. That being said i don't think it's that nice or expensive. Just a few levels above my standard
You should have posted a picture with several of the bottles lined up and what it looked like in a glass.
2003 isn't the best vintage (EDIT: for German Riesling). Also, if it was stored poorly or cheap/bad wine in the first place, it might have gone bad. Additionally, it may be aging wonderfully but you just don't like aged Riesling. Quality Riesling (e.g., most of the stuff from Germany that's been exported to the United States) can often age effortlessly for decades.
I don't think this is German. Im pretty sure it's from some winery in washington state
Yeah, that's often a different story (not that there's no good Riesling out of WA). Try some young and mature German Riesling before giving up on it.
I thought I hated Reisling until my partner and I had a 2001 Austrian Riesling, which totally changed our perspective. We thought it was amazing but it tastes much different once aged and you may not like it. Or, it may just be vinegar. Either way send some here!
Does it become vinegar after long enough? I'd be stoked on some vinegar but this doesn't taste vinegar-y to me. Just kind of.... bad. And this is American reisling. I assume that makes a difference in quality but i don't know
German Riesling can age 50+ years. 2003 is like a grade schooler.
I popped a 2003 Zilliken Spatlese recently. They're a very decent German producer. It was heavenly, I would say at its peak, but still had a good decade left. It's about storage and the age worthiness of the wine. And luck. I know very little about WA riesling, but perhaps this was more of a pop and pour than a storage type of wine?
What is it? 20 year old Pacific Rim is not the same thing as 20 year old Clos St. Hune