Are wines with leaked corks still drinkable?

My great aunt recently moved into care and, while I was cleaning out her garage, I found dozens of bottles of wine that had leaked or pushed their corks out. Some look OK, though; are they worth selling?

—A.H., Longueville, NSW

Unfortunately, even the bottles that look all right are probably past being pleasant to drink. That’s assuming they’ve all been in the garage for a similar length of time. Younger vintages are likely to have spent less time there in that place and are, therefore, likely to be in better condition. Like most garages, this one is evidently too hot at certain times of the year to store wine safely.

I’ve seen too many “cellars” like the one you describe: wine that’s been kept too long in a hot place is one of the most depressing sights for a wine-lover. You typically see corks pushed out, or filthy bottles with fungus encrusting the capsule where wine has leaked out. Some bottles will be completely empty due to evaporation; others contain a cloudy, murky brown substance that once was wine. It’s enough to bring a tear to the eye, especially when the labels carry the names of famous wineries.

A friend recently cleared such a stash and found that reputable Coonawarra reds from the late 1980s and early ’90s were past palatable, but Hunter Valley whites from the early noughties were superb, especially those with screw-caps. Tyrrell’s Futures semillon from 2002 to 2011 were all in good nick. But most of the bottles had to be uncorked, emptied and dumped in the recycling bin: a melancholy task.

Reds from the 1960s through to the early ’90s – all sealed with cork, of course – tended to be “over the hill”. That said, we kept a solitary bottle of 1952 Woodleys Treasure Chest Claret, a famous Bill Redman wine from a famous Coonawarra series, to open soon with appropriate company, but I hold out slim hope of it being potable. Fingers crossed!

I’m often asked when is the best time to drink a wine, and the answer is that it depends on the wine and, most subjectively, whether you enjoy aged wine or prefer it young. It’s always better to drink a bottle a little too young than a little too old.

Got a drinks question for Huon Hooke? thefullbottle@goodweekend.com.au