Really old wines

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44267449

Three bottles of white wine have just been sold for record prices, mostly because they’re incredibly old and from a pretty famous French winemaking region. The wine was made in the 1770s. 

You don’t just buy such wines for the labels. Surely at some point, the temptation is to sample what’s inside... could you admit you blew so much money on something that tastes awful? Or ordinary? (Is the auction house still allowed to sell it if the cork is in anyway damaged? I mean, they sell ancient pottery containers with remnants of fermented drinks, so would/could this fall into a similar curio category as well?)

Just curious, on a quiet Sunday morning.

oh! I see it’s not white wine, it’s ‘yellow wine’, a kind of sherry style wine. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeira_wine

AAh Dave, it's French, not Spanish

Edited to add: this style isn't fortified sherry. It has its own wiki page.

Another word for 300 year old wine is "vinegar".  Can the bottle be made into an attractive vase?

Years ago a friend and I opened his roommate’s $500 wine by accident, it was awful.

Had the good fortune of tasting a bottle slightly older than mine in the photo attached.  It was wonderful, and an amazing experience to taste as it evolved over time after opening.  But it didn’t last long, and when it went off the cliff it really WENT.  I’m sure those in the auction, if sealed and stored properly, could be perfectly fine to drink.  Madeiras can almost last forever.

Thanks for that review - would have loved being a fly on the wall! When you say it didn't last long, 30 mins? 10? I'm just wondering how quickly it succumbed to the oxidation (I'm guessing that's what turned it). 

But again, being a Madeira, it was a fortified sherry, yes? Vin jaune isn't, and has lower alcohol, so I guess the mouth feel and taste are a bit different, the lasting power a bit different. 

Edited to add: the history of all this has me really intrigued, esp as I can't drink wines any more. How the flavours change over long periods of time is fascinating. 

joanne said:
How the flavours change over long periods of time is fascinating. 

 The drunker you get the less you care, within limits.

Do you remember Cold Duck?

snort!