To continue from the other blog on older wines, the real question becomes; how old is old? One can always say that a half century wine is definitely old, and no one can argue. But how many people will have the chance to taste such a wine, and how many wines of that age are actually drinkable? If you take the advice from Hugh Johnson's 2005 Pocket Wine Book, then anything over half that age (25yrs) is definitely speculative. (He actually said that wines older than 1982 are speculative in 2006). The gentle demise of a 65 yr old wine rather confirms his assertion.
Well, I also suppose you have to take into account the colour as well. Whites are generally not supposed to last as long, especially dry whites, so maybe even a 20 year old white is old. (Of course some whites are designed to age (even dry ones) and those aged examples (such as this and this) are very much eye openers. Reds fare better and although the 1966 Haut-Brion was disappointing compared to the Margaux (at the Two Century Dinner), it actually was still a respectable drink. As for fortified wines, that's another story altogether.
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