To throw away these bottles of champagne

[Paleogal]

Clearing out a cupboard and came across these. Have to be at least 10 years old. Will they still be drinkable?

My mother had lots of bottles of Champagne left over from her 40th wedding anniversary. She kept them to open on what would have been her 50th (my father died shortly after their 40th). Unfortunately they were all undrinkable as they hadn't been stored properly. Having to chuck a bottle of Krug and another of Dom Perignon down the sink is one of the saddest things I've ever had to do.

The asti is probably fucked to be honest.

Keep them , if they don't "pop" when they open use them for cooking instead of wine.

Champagne does not improve with age. I certainly wouldn't chuck them without chilling it and trying it first but I wouldn't hold out too much hope!

Charlmagne!? Isn't that pear juice?? (£2.99 for 2 litres)

I've had the misfortune of drinking Charlemagne when it was new .......

How the hell do you manage to hang on to alcohol for so long ;)

Drink it.. apart from the nasty asti obviously!

Champagne isn't improved by age actually and does have a 'lifespan' it will depend on how you have stored it and how well and long it was stored for before you got it too!

For the real champagne ones google them as they will probably have a value and uou can send them to auction. It might not be high but they will probably be worth more now than then and also be undrinkable. There is a market for old champagne if it has a year on it.

For the Asti etc I doubt any value and I doubt drinking it.

This is a lesson for me too to be honest! I got 2 bottles for Christmas last year but was pregnant and due in June so obviously didn't touch them, kept saving them for a special occasion I felt able to drink at,with having a new baby this hasn't happened yet and at almost a year old (though kept in the fridge so cold and mostly dark) I'm hoping I may be able to have them this year now LO will be 6 months old and me and DH actually get an hour a night to ourselves once he's in bed!

The label on the M&S one, says it keeps for six months.

They're probably all not drinkable.

Any high street style champagne (the only sort I ever have ) should be drunk quite young - under 2 years.

A high quality champagne from a good year will improve with age but will cost more in the first place. And even having paid a premium for it originally, it will then have to be stored horizontally , in the dark, in a temperature and humidity controlled environment.

Assuming you don't have a champagne cave under your house these bottles are probably going to have turned to vinegar - but what the heck ! Chill them and open them with hope and a happy heart. Just have a bottle of something cheap and cheerful tucked away in case of emergency.

If it's over 10 percent ABV, it should be microbiology stable so you won't poison yourself. However, champagne doesn't age that well. Try it and see.