How long can you keep Champagne ?

[Rotor]

I bet this has been asked before? but how long could you keep it, bfore it goes either off/bad or maybe just not as nice?
I have a twenty year old botle from our Wedding day. Should I just keep it as a momento of the day or could it last till say 25th Silver Anny.to be drunk ?
P.

[RDMcG]

Its depends entirely in the champagne and the storage. Propelry stored, a good Champagne can last almost indefinitely. If you have ben storing in on a wine rack at room temperature, it is certainly finished. I have a lot of wine including champagnes going back to 1989 and have had no problems but I do have proper cooled dark storage.

[ErnestM]

^^^ What he said. Most of your vintage champagne (Bollinger RD, etc) are good for storing. Most of the non-vintage stuff, I find, is best for drinking immediately.

[Rotor]

Oh thats great news ! Its been kept upright at the back of a dark cupboard so I'll leave it then for the big 25th Anny.(Its Bolly BTW)
Cheers!

Edited by Rotor on Wednesday 16th December 16:17

[fastfreddy]

Read this:

http://www.thewinenews.com/decjan0001/cover.html

In my experience, it's best drunk as soon as possible. Like me

Although there is some debate that laying Champagne down will improve it, I think you're probably taking a bigger gamble after 5 or so years than a lot of other wines.

Recently, we opened a couple of bottles of a vintage Gosset I had from about 1985 which had been kept 'on cork'. The wine was considerable darker and there was a caramel tinge. One of the bottles we found to be not that pleasant, but not what you'd call 'bad' or 'off' in the same sense as a corked wine. It ended up down the sink.
The other bottle was definitely more drinkable but still not as nice as it was when I bought them.

Obviously storage conditions will have a huge bearing on this anyway, so my experience isn't the be all and end all, but it might help you make your mind up...

[dhf]

Should be stored on its side to keep cork wet.vintage will last longer than non vintage.the cork over time will shrink and eventually you will get little or no bubbles,still usually drinkable.

[HiRich]

Tests have shown that champagne does not need to be stored on its side (unlike other wines). The extra compression on a champagne cork, naturally wider than a regular wine cork, means it will maintain the seal. There is some evidence the wine may be better for it.
Stable temperatures, and dark (why such light bottles?) matter most. As suggested, a deputy bottle would be wise.

The best advice for champagne is to always buy to store. As well as meaning there is always a bottle to hand for that unexpected occasion, champagne is always sold 'green' and will appreciate a year of storage 9also, in conditions you can verify, not that sunny shop window).