Graham's 1952 Colheita Tawny Port QEII Diamond Jubilee bottling

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Pseudonym
Cruz Ruby
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Joined: 15:59 Tue 02 May 2017

Graham's 1952 Colheita Tawny Port QEII Diamond Jubilee bottling

Post by Pseudonym »

Good afternoon TPF,

I've just signed up and I'm looking for some advice if possible.

I must point out this isn't an attempt at a backdoor sale- I am aware there is a selling forum.

I have decided to sell my Graham's 1952 Colheita Tawny Port QEII Diamond Jubilee Bottling in some way, shape or form... and that's where my quandary begins.

Having never sold before, I am unsure of its real value or indeed the best place to sell it.

I am lucky enough to have 1 of the Oak cases containing 3 bottles. Having spoken to the valuation team at BB&R, they have given me an approximate value, however I was informed that they are unaware of any that have come up for sale. The bottles have been stored in a stable, temperature and hermitically controlled environment for the entire time they have been in my possession, so have no reason to suspect any degradation of cork or contents.

So my questions are really this:

1: what would you say is the REAL value of this bottling, and does the presentation carry a premium?

2: where, besides this forum of course, would be the best place to relinquish ownership?

I made the faux pas at the beginning of this little journey in buying 3 bottles in the case, meaning all 3 or none at all must be enjoyed.
I now suffer what I think is know as 'the fear' in opening any of the contents. Shame.

Many thanks in advance.



Glenn E.
Graham’s 1977
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Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Re: Graham's 1952 Colheita Tawny Port QEII Diamond Jubilee bottling

Post by Glenn E. »

Individual bottles are available from the EU on Winesearcher.com for as low as $300 - $330, so that's your approximate "retail" value. That seems reasonable to me compared to the price of the 1952 Kopke Colheita, which runs $250 - $275 in the EU. The Kopke is a better Port, but the Graham name carries more weight than the Kopke name so they can usually get away with charging more. (Sorry for the prices in US$, but I'm in Seattle.)

Private sales vary by country, but from what I know in the UK they're typically at roughly 50% of retail value. I have made private purchases in the UK at approximately that rate, so it does seem to hold true in my experience.

The presentation box is tricky. Some people will happily pay more to get it, while others won't care at all and will ask for just the bottle(s). I'm in the latter group, so for that reason it's very hard for me to estimate what that box might be worth.
Glenn Elliott
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Alex Bridgeman
Graham’s 1948
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Re: Graham's 1952 Colheita Tawny Port QEII Diamond Jubilee bottling

Post by Alex Bridgeman »

You have three routes to selling the bottles: a private sale, an auction or a sale to a reseller.

If you sell through auction you will pay a commission to the auctioneer. If you sell to a reseller they will need to make their margin.

To get an idea of the price you could expect, start with the current retail price which you can find from www.wine-searcher.com

This is showing the GBP price to be around 235 + VAT or 282 including VAT. Realistically you would expect to achieve around half of that value as a seller.

So your three bottles would sell - pretty much whichever route you used - for about £400-450 (assuming that you have physical posession of the bottles). It is possible the box would generate a premium, so you may have a wider range of £400-500.

If the bottles are stored with Berry Brothers, you could use the BBX facility to offer the bottles for sale to other Berry Brothers clients.

And, of course, the obvious way to overcome the fear of opening is to invite yourself to one of our port themed get-togethers (such as the one on May 10th) where you can open one of your bottles, share it with other port lovers and in return share from the bottles which they bring - our last session saw a range of port from 1963-1977 on a random Thursday night! That was without knowing that anything as special as a Graham 1952 Single Harvest Tawny was coming along.
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.

2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
Pseudonym
Cruz Ruby
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Joined: 15:59 Tue 02 May 2017

Re: Graham's 1952 Colheita Tawny Port QEII Diamond Jubilee bottling

Post by Pseudonym »

Thanks for the replies.

It would appear I either need to enjoy it or cut my nose of to spite my face and take a loss. Of course the last option is to put it to the back of the cellar & forget about it.

Thanks again for your time and your replies.
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DRT
Fonseca 1966
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Re: Graham's 1952 Colheita Tawny Port QEII Diamond Jubilee bottling

Post by DRT »

I would suggest not going for the option of putting these in the cellar and forgetting about them. These bottles were not intended to be aged, they were intended to be drunk. A small number of years is fine but long term storage in bottle will not benefit this wine.

You are unlikely to ever recoup what you paid or make a profit on these bottles. Drinking them on special occasions over the next decade is probably your best way of returning value from your investment :wink:
"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
PhilW
Dalva Golden White Colheita 1952
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Re: Graham's 1952 Colheita Tawny Port QEII Diamond Jubilee bottling

Post by PhilW »

Hi; as others have noted, these bottles were at their peak when they were bottled; colheita does not generally improve with age in the bottle - it does change slightly, and people may argue about how fast it changes or degrades. Generally therefore, although there are a few bottlings which may attract a premium for rarity, most colheitas do not increase in value with age - they are usually at their highest price when just bottled, or perhaps during the following 1-2 years if it was a limited bottling.

Given the additional reductions in price (VAT etc) when selling privately compared to retail, if you enjoy colheita then I would definitely say keep it and drink it (it is lovely wine). If not, I would say sell asap, as it will likely only depreciate further.
Pseudonym
Cruz Ruby
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Joined: 15:59 Tue 02 May 2017

Re: Graham's 1952 Colheita Tawny Port QEII Diamond Jubilee bottling

Post by Pseudonym »

Hi all.

Thanks again for the input. The case is now sold.
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Alex Bridgeman
Graham’s 1948
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Re: Graham's 1952 Colheita Tawny Port QEII Diamond Jubilee bottling

Post by Alex Bridgeman »

Pseudonym wrote: 23:46 Wed 03 May 2017 Hi all.

Thanks again for the input. The case is now sold.
Out of interest for others who might approach us with similar requests, did our comments and thoughts help you at all in finding a buyer at a price you were happy with?
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.

2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
Pseudonym
Cruz Ruby
Posts: 4
Joined: 15:59 Tue 02 May 2017

Re: Graham's 1952 Colheita Tawny Port QEII Diamond Jubilee bottling

Post by Pseudonym »

Hi AHB,

I'm grateful you all took the time to contact me on the thread of via PM with advice and opinion.
While it wasn't the answer I had hoped, it was definitely informative and give me that extra layer of detail I needed to secure a sale. Thankfully I was offered cost for it, so I've come away unaffected.

Time to enjoy other bottles hiding at the back of the seller & perhaps some of the older cigars in the humidor. One thing I'm am certain, Life is for living folks.

All the best
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