Does corked wine have an expiry?

Depends on a lot of factors. Red wines stored properly will last a very, very long time but there is a peak, and it’s different for all of them. The Rosé my inlaws stored in the attic for 20 years, well, it’s beyond bad. A bordeaux a few years old in a cupboard is going to be just fine. Red wines age well, white wines go bad. Your bottle is best enjoyed when you like. It’s not going to be significantly better in a few years, but it won’t be worse.

Should be good . . I had a couple bottles from 1955, that I drank in 1995 and 2001. But they were special. Your Bordeaux should be good, it is only a couple of years old.

It’s more about how it was stored rather than how long. Wines don’t like wildly fluctuating temperatures and certainly don’t like high temperatures. You said this bottle was in your cupboard. Is your cupboard in the kitchen near the stove? Or is it just in a storage cabinet in a room like the dining room?

When I used to deliver wine, we had to be careful about temperature. I’m in North Carolina and it gets pretty hot in the summer time. Taking wine from the temperature controlled warehouse, putting it into the back of the truck where the temperature could get up to 100 F and then driving it around all day was enough that it could “cook” the wine. It heats it up enough that it changes the flavor into a funk.

Another thing I wasn’t sure from the question is whether the bottle you have was once opened or not. If it was unopened and things are fine temperature-wise the bottle should be fine for years. If it was opened and just had a cork put back in to keep it from spilling, you are on a time line. The oxygen will again get into the wine and change the flavor, usually into a vinegary flavor.

There is some over-generalization being mentioned here. For example there are reds that are not designed for aging and should be enjoyed young, likewise there are whites that are meant to age. It is true though that most whites will peak early many reds will peak later, sometimes decades later, but there are many reds that don’t have the tannins and acidity to support years of bottle aging.

One point of confusion is from your title description of “corked wine.” This phrase has a very different meaning to what (I believe) you intended. It refers to a TCA contamination. I believe you’re referring to wine sealed with a cork as opposed to wine sealed with a screw cap or artificial cork.

To address your specific question about a Grande Reserve Bordeaux, I would very much expect this wine to age beautifully. 2021 is pretty young for such a wine. It is important to store it properly, on its side so the cork doesn’t dry out. Also, don’t ever let it get too hot. that will ruin it.

@seawulf575 and @gorillapaws are both absolutely correct. (I work part time in a winery). But unless the bottle was mishandled, the wine should be excellent.

Thank you so much for your answers everyone! I learnt some new and handy tips, much appreciated!
To clarify, yes it was unopened (I did end up opening it when I discovered a few more in the cupboard) and no, it’s not in the kitchen and it’s fairly cool. I live in the U.K so it doesn’t really get too hot.
I’ll make sure to properly store the rest and open them in a few years time!

Just to clarify, once it’s opened, you have about a week to drink it.

@jca2 They do make “stoppers” that can be used with a tool that sucks out the air in the bottle, creating a vacuum. It isn’t 100% effective, of course, but it can extend the life of an open bottle for several weeks without too much damage to the wine.

As far as the longevity of an opened bottle of wine goes, those vacuum stoppers are pretty pointless (there is still a ton of oxygen left after pumping it out). There’s a device called a Coravin that is used in the industry that injects an inert gas (argon I think) to extract the wine from the bottle via a syringe, but these are expensive and I have accounts who say they can taste a difference with a Coravin.

I would say that wine really starts to decline in quality after the 2nd and 3rd day. Inexpensive wine is often loaded with stabilizers and other chemistry that helps it last longer when opened, so you may experience better results. The “good stuff” doesn’t have all of that extra “chemistry” going on and really is best enjoyed within the first couple of days. After 3 days, you’ve lost most of what made that wine special (It’s like taking sand paper to a delicately carved piece of wood).

When I sample wine with accounts we will only use bottles that have been opened for 2 days, max. After that, we take them home and drink them or give them away to friends/family/neighbors.

@gorillapaws Yes. It’s argon. And you don’t need the expensive syringe. You can just get a cheap spray can of argon with a spray can plastic straw. Spray the argon in and then recork it.

@Caravanfan just get a cheap spray can of argon with a spray can plastic straw. Spray the argon in and then recork it

This made me curious, so I googled “is argon heavier than air?” The answer is yes, so the cheap argon solution looks like a winner!

@Call_Me_Jay It’s what we use in the winery. If we have bottles out for a tasting and at the end of the day there is, say, half a bottle left, we’ll argon spray it and finish it the next day. Works fine.

BTW there is a whole other version of “corked wine” where the wine safe but undrinkable—musty, funky, bitter. Look it up,

BTW there is a whole other version of “corked wine” where the wine safe but undrinkable

That is the legit reason for the ritual of sniffing the cork and tasting the wine before serving the guests. Bad wine is seriously bad, not simply low quality.

Anyone who sends back a decent, not-ruined bottle is a pretentious asshole.