Seepage - what the heck?

[Jim Christensen]

Hello All,

First post; thanks to Roy for a warm welcome.

Seeking to increase my already vast collection of port. I currently own one bottle each of the '97 Fonseca and '03 Niepoort .

Roy suggested I try some port from the 70's to see what an aged port can be. I often shop on winebid and see most, if not all, the bottles from the 70's have seepage. What the heck is this all about? Is this the "angels' share?" Or poor cellaring? I typically don't drink wines older than 12 years of ages (recently had a '98 Whitehall Lane Cabernet,mmmm) so other than cosmetic damage to the bottle, I usually don't have a problem with fill.

Are all older ports prone to seepage?

If not, is is acceptable to buy a bottle with seepage?

A search of this forum only returned this post:
http://www.fortheloveofport.com/ftlopfo ... age#p36498

Thanks!!

Jim

[Peter W. Meek]

It's often shown as SOS (signs of seepage). You might try searching on that; it might find a lot of other words with 'sos' in them though.

I've had several ports with slight SOS, and not found them to be especially risky for problems. My worst ports have looked perfect.

Buying older wine (new wine, too) is something of a crapshoot. A small but real chance that the wine will disappoint.

[Symon B]

hi all i baught a case of warre 58 blind cheap when it got delivered 1/3dr had lost 3/4 of the port through crappy corks the rest were sos and mid to top sholder and believe it ore not were nice to drink there were 2 into neck and they were even better
whilst the quality will drop from my experience sos port can still better than your local pub lb etc symonb
ps i but base of neck ore better if i can now for safety

[Rob C.]

Seepage can also also a great excuse to drink up early and not feel guilty - such as with the '97 Niepoort I otherwise would not have tried!

[Eric Menchen]

I had a 1985 Delaforce SOS that disappointed, but then I don't know if a pristine bottle of that would have been great. I've had numerous other SOS bottles that were delightful. Corks can dry and Port will seep. I try to avoid buying SOS bottles, but if the fill level is good, they can be good too.

To specifically answer the question as to whether older Ports are prone to seepage, the answer is yes, in particular if not cellared with suitable humidity. This would be true of all wines.

[Roy Hersh]

Jim,

Nice to see you over here.

We hope that you will continue to share and learn along with us!

[Moses Botbol]

SOS bottle is the first to drink in the OWC. I'd be more worried about bulging corks and color than a little seepage.