Stuff happens: The maderisation of a fine French champagne

I know what it looks like. But I am not to blame for what happened to this 1973 Dom Perignon. It was bottled when I was a freshman in college. I came to it late in its life. I believe the provenance was Moët & Chandon at Epernay or Hautvillers to the U.S. distributor in New York in the 1970s, to my late father-in-law, Chef Louis Donnard, to his home in Queens, to the wine cellar of his first retirement home in the Pennsylvania mountains, then to an assisted living community in southern Pennsylvania, then to my home in Baltimore. At some point, perhaps after my father-in-law’s illness, the bottle suffered some neglect. (Hey, life happens, stuff happens, and some things get lost in the shuffle.) When I discovered it a few years ago, the bottle had been standing upright next to bottles of booze, not stored in its proper position for long preservation. I assumed it was past its prime.

While some 1973 Dom Perignons are still being auctioned off today for thousands of dollars, most of the experts on sparkling wines believe champagne is best no later than 20 years out; some believe certain vintages can last 30 years. No good wine holds up well without proper storage.

So, when I finally opened it, I found the cork dry, as you would expect, with some crystallization. The sparkle was long gone. The aroma was of over-ripened apples, the taste was oddly sweet-and-sour. The amber color reminded me of Madeira. In fact, the wine experts called what happened to this 51-year-old champagne maderisation.

It won’t be wasted, however. With apologies to those involved in creating this champagne way back when, I will use it in the kitchen. I’m sure it will make a fine Chicken Madeira.