I did it - and survived!

So I opened the French wine, and was surprised at the colour. It's held up well, still a hint of red freshness with browner overtones.

The cork simply fell to bits.

On tasting, was like being punched in the mouth by a Port; it has fortified, with a short flat finish. Not too bad, really.  OK, it's shite, and I only had 3 sips, shuddering with each one, but I was happy to put my body on the line for the sake of this blog.

Needless to say I ate my dinner with a glass of water. 

Coming up, Rockfords, Charles Melton and more. Will they be drinkable? Have they survived my garage?

Choices, choices! (and not a drop to drink!)

So I found these two this afternoon. One is vintage 1991 French, and seems to be ok in regards to the cork and bottle.

The second bottle is a sad case, vintage 1976 -  half the bottle has leaked out via the rotten cork and even I don't think I can be bothered opening it. We'll see, it might kill my cold-germs!

Corked, or not, there's always my teeth.

For my second bottle I choose a Hardys Nottage Hill 1990 Cabernet Sauvignon, mainly because once again it's the only bottle I can reach in the garage. Ignoring the dust I wrestle with cutting the top off, and my heart sunk when the wine puller went in too easily. Too easily! Yes, it was crumbly and the cork disintegrated under my hand. Not beaten, I pushed and pulled harder, with cork confetti showering around my feet in the kitchen. I suppose I should push the cork down, but I can't be bothered. Grabbing 2 fine sieves, I strain the dark reddish brown wine into a glass, before tasting. Nuh, it's not going to happen. It's gone off, and I'm not drinking it. Back to the clean-skins for tonight. Cheers!

My second bottle looks ok if you like dust

Must learn to stop and read the label

Even I can't be bothered trying to get the cork out