We Drank a 172-Year-Old Wine. How’s It Taste?

Rare, 18th and 19th century Madeiras, hidden during Prohibition, are going on sale at Christie’s.

Some 18th and 19th century bottles of Lenox Madeiras and others discovered at the Liberty Hall Museum in Union, New Jersey, last year.

Source: Christie's

In a chilly wine warehouse in the Bronx two weeks ago, a famous Portuguese winemaker pried ancient corks from 5-gallon glass demijohns of 19th century Madeira. Was the wine inside still drinkable? Madeira ages longer than other wines, but 150-plus years?

I won’t keep you in suspense. Amazingly, the answer was yes.