Y'Quem 1922 - below shoulder... worth opening?

[atruegent]

Dear all,

I've just bought a 1922 Y'Quem whose fill level is quite dubious. It's just below the base of the shoulder, which is the lowest I've ever seen.

In all likelihood it's going to be knackered. Have no idea what the storage conditions were like.

Do I keep it for decoration and aesthetic purposes or do you think I should just go ahead and open it up?

What would you do?

Interested to hear the opinions!

[Winesense]

You can never know. The reports from bad bottle parties do speak of great surprises too. It seems that the storage conditions are more important than the fill. Could be you wasting a gem.
Thus, what is your gain from having a full bottle on the shelf as opposed to a empty bottle?

[atruegent]

Good point. Also it might help if I specify what I paid for it: £20.00 (roughly 30 USD).

[Winesense]

Based on Winesearcher that shoud be a fraction of the market price, even with that fill. Maybe selling is an option too.

[SF Ed]

With old Sauternes, you never know what you are going to get. Find the right time and just drink it - you never know. Maybe they accidentally put some 1921 in it

SF Ed

[atruegent]

Thanks for the replies! Here's a picture of the fill level. Such a shame it hasn't been stored correctly!

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/823/img2098mq.jpg/

Chances are extremely high that it's knackered, which is why I'm not getting any hopes up! But.... you never know if there's a collector out there who is missing the 1922....

Alex

[DavidG]

I wouldn't expected much based on that pic and price, but I'd drink it. You might be pleasantly surprised (doubt it), but I can guarantee you it will never be better than it is now. As for displaying purposes, it will look better empty.

[jmccready]

Bring it to BWE 2014 and we will all give you our opinions, after it is open of course. JM

[RDD]

....... Such a shame it hasn't been stored correctly!

....

Alex

If it was in pristine condition it wouldn't be 20 quid. So do you love wine or money?
At that price it's a no brainer. Get some wine lovers together and try it.