Krug, Dom Perignon and Cristal...should I drink them now?

[jonott]

Over the past 2 years I've acquired some great champagne - a bottle of Krug Grand Cuvee; Cristal 1997, and Dom Perignon 1999 and 1996 (which I'm told was a great year).
I guess my question is...will they keep for years or should I be drinking them now?
Being expensive champagnes I'd hate to keep them too long and then find they'd gone off when I finally have them.
For the last six months they've been kept in a wine fridge at the recommended 11 degrees. Prior to that they were on a wine rack in the kitchen which had varying temperatures. I hope this hasn't affected them.
Many thanks
Jono

[prand]

Firstly can I say - lucky you!

Vintage bubbly is supposed to age really well in the right conditions (20 years or so), as it will mellow with time, acidity will drop, and there will be less bubbles, turning it into an even more subtle, classy bevvie. Of course the wine will also become more valuable and rare, so you can imagine that opening up a 96 Dom Perignon for a birthday or anniversary in 2016 will be a very, very special occasion.

11C in your wine fridge sounds spot on to me - although hopefully you've got a wine cooler that also ensures humidity at 60-70% (a normal fridge is much lower) - or else your corks will dry out allowing air in the bottle to spoil the wine. Hopefully you didn't store the wine too long in the kitchen, as it's the fluctuation in temps that really ruin a wine. That will shorten the shelf life, but you should be able to keep them for a decade to come now you have the right conditions. I'm not sure I could wait that long though!

EDIT - to answer your question, I have found that having good wine in the house is an awful conundrum. You want to drink it immediately as it's so tempting. Yet you also want to save it for that special occasion that never really comes along. And once it's drunk, it's gone forever. I usually find I drink my best wine with my neighbour who shares a big love for wine, and we usually find a reason to tuck into some bottles we've been hoarding.

For champagne, I usually save it to drink with my wife, a magnum of something special usually goes down a treat!

Edited by prand on Monday 30th June 12:13

[jonott]

Thanks for the advice.
As you say it's very tempting to drink it now, but also just knowing I have these lovely champagnes brings me pleasure too.
What a conundrum

[Steve_T]

With champagne the sediment which allows the wine to age is removed when it is prepared for sale. Generally the better quality the champagne and the longer it has aged before the sediment was removed, the longer you can keep it for.

Steve.