Does Champagne age like wine? What is the shelf life for a bottle of Champagne?
Champagne is no different from any other type of wine. It can be cellared (kept and improved with age) but the degree to which you can age a bottle of champagne without ruining it will vary according to: 1) The particular champagne product you have. Often the label on the bottle will give a suggestion or contacting the maker will provide some advice. A general rule is 3 years is the limit for most modern products. 2) The conditions under which the champagne is stored. Proper cellaring should be in a cool dark place where there is little temperature variation throughout the seasons. Poor cellaring conditions can spoil a wine outright or reduce its possible cellaring time. This can be due to overly vigorous fermetation in the bottle due to the wine being too warm or the cork deteriorating and failing to seal the bottle properly. Most champagne will benefit from a couple of years (2-3 is generally safe) because it is released onto the market quite “young”. This is done to allow people to
