German wine question

A good, if somewhat addled, friend gifted me for my birthday two bottles of Thanisch Bernkasteler Doctor Auslese - a '75 and an '82 - with the expectation that I will open them at dessert tomorrow.

I dunno....

I love the good doctor's wines, but I'm thinking these may require more than a doctor's care at this point.

Ok, so here's my question:

The 1975, the better vintage, looks pretty much caramel colored with a good two inches of loss under the cork. I'm writing this one off.

The '82, although a much lesser vintage, actually still looks...well, not AS brown, and with much less loss. Eternal optimist that I am (I voted for Clayton Moore in the last election) I'm going to open it and see happens.

Assuming that, however optimistic, the fluid inside will still smell of Goodyear All-Terrain XT's and turpentine on opening...will that blow off after a while and reveal a more-or-less drinkable wine underneath, similar to how reds sometimes do? Should I decant this thing hours beforehand and hope for a miracle? Or am I just, y'know, kidding myself into thinking it HAS to get better eventually? I've never had an almost 30-year-old auslese before, so I don't have any firsthand knowlege to give me guidance.

But I figure one of you must. What say you?

Thanks!

[David M. Bueker]

Open the bottles about an hour ahead & give them a tiny taste. If they are not completely gone (the '75 sounds worrisome) then you should be good to go. There's no reason they should be dead except for bad storage/bad corks.

Not much help, I'm afraid.

I have had the delight of tasting both those wines---many years ago had the fortune to be slightly acquainted with the managers of the Thanisch properties, and several times tasted in their caves under the Berg itself. Unfortunately I tasted them long, long ago, so can't tell how they would be doing now.

There's also the all important provenance to consider: where have they been and how have they been kept all this time?

Reflections on the vintages: The 1975 got great press, yes. But I always thought it was not the most stable of vintages, and I say an awful lot of bottle variation wand weak producers from '75, and came across a number of wines that I just didn't feel were going to make it for the long haul. Don't really think it was the "wine for the ages" vintage, and was likely better for a mid-range aging.

I'm more sanguine about the '82 though. Not as lauded, no, but on the other hand I thought it was a sturdy little vintage. It might actually surprise you and hold up.

Then again, who the hell knows.

Should be an interesting experience, one way or the other.

David and Hoke, thanks much for taking the time to reply!

Jeez Hoke, that's really cool about hitting up the Berg itself. What an awesome - and picturesque - experience it must have been! I appreciate your insight(s) into the relative merits of each vintage, also.

I know these wines have been kept in decent conditions for the approx. 20 years she's had them. Nice dark cool cellar with a steady year round temperature. So who knows? I've been surprised before (remind me to tell you about the garlic wine that got sprung on me at the International Wine Center years ago when I was working there).

Anyway, if they don't work out I have a Banyuls in the wings as a backup.

Thanks again to both of you!