Ok what happened

says...

It certainly sounds like you did, and without benefit of a solera. I'm not familiar with the Ives, but, even though BH rates it on the low-middle of the residual sugar range (I buttume that is what the "meter" is telling me), it apparently had enough RS to keep it from going totally off.

I encountered a bottle of Taylor (strange how that name pops up in this thread, as the late owner of BH was a Mr Taylor) Vintage 1955 that had become a Tawny from a dried cork. I'd never tasted the '55 and it was the single missing Taylor Fladgate Vintage from my list dating back to the 1948. In London, at the Park Lane, the server asked if I would be interested in tasting it, as I placed my order. Obviously, the chance to do so got my attention. She presented the bottle, and it was actually a Taylor bottling, but the lable was darkly discolored. I watched as the capsule (no wax) and cork were removed with great difficulty. The cork had partially disintegrated. I had the first two glbuttes of this wine. To my surprise, the color was that of a light Tawny, and the flavors matched. It wasn't as well-rounded as the Taylor 20y, but lacked the spirity taste of the Taylor 10y. Not a bad Tawny (I'd give it a B -), but obviously NOT the 1955 Vintage that I'd been hoping for. Even without the barrel aging, the wine had become somewhat like a Tawny, though it did not taste maderized, only slightly oxidized. Interesting, but I still have never tasted the Taylor 1955 Vintage! Oh well, maybe some day.