ThePortForum.com

I have read the intro thread and would love some advice from those with a lot more knowledge on this subject than myself.

My mother has given me 9 bottles of port that she no longer wishes to keep. These were part of a lot given to my father when he retired from his company (a distillery/wine importers) in the early 90s. There are 5 bottles of Cockburns 1963, a bottle of Fonseca 63 (unlabelled apart from a hand written label on the cork seal), two bottles of Grahams 1963 and a bottle of Warre 1975 (unlabelled but the glass is stamped).

These will have been cellared at the distillery until given to my father and have since been stored in a sealed (Cockburns) cardboard box in the bottom of a wardrobe in a cool room away from heat and sunlight.

I have copied photos of the bottles to here https://flic.kr/s/aHsk88rE92 and included liquid levels in the bottles in the photo descriptions.

Are these likely to be worth anything to someone who appreciates port or is the fact that they haven't been cellared for the past 20 years a no-goer? My sister and I have kept a few bottles for ourselves but would rather the rest go to someone who would appreciate them. However, if they are not likely to be worth anything to anyone else we'll keep them and try and find appropriate excuses to open them ourselves.

I would really appreciate any help anyone could provide on this question.
Many Thanks
Roger.

Hi Roger, and welcome to .

From the photos and your description, the Ck63 and G63 look in good shape while the levels on the F63 and W75 are perhaps a touch low. My biggest query regarding potential condition would be whether the bottles were upright or on their sides while stored in the cardboard box in the cool cupboard? You are clearly aware that storage in cupboard/wardrobe is not ideal; depending on the amount of daily temperature variation, you might find these wines are over-evolved as a consequence, but if it is truly cool, dark and doesn't vary too much then they could be in good shape. The issue regarding whether they have been stored upright or horizontal: if they have been upright for all that time, then the corks may well have dried out, which would lead to an imperfect seal, and typically some oxidation and possible loss of level.

The chance of the bottles being in excellent condition given your storage conditions are slim, however they might still be ok/good condition if your cupboard is truly cool, does not vary in temperature much, and if they have been stored horizontally. In that case then the bottles would likely be of interest to a port fan who was prepared to take a risk since they are from good producers and 1963 was an excellent year (though non-perfectly stored bottles are starting to fade). If they have been stored vertically in your cupboard, the chance of them being in fair condition is dramatically reduced, as would be any interest.

Our first recommendation is often to suggest opening one for yourselves; however, if you want to sell them, I understand that you want to get a fair price, but also not sell someone poor wine. Perhaps if you were able to find an interested local buyer, you could offer to sell the lowest fill bottle at a nominal price for them to try, subject to an agreed price for the rest of the bottles if it seems in good condition, or some-such arrangement.

Hope that helps; Phil.

Thanks Phil. That seems a sensible approach.

They have been stored horizontally and the box has a hand written "This way up" on it which is one of the sides which, I suspect my mother or father put on it.

Hello, where are you and your bottles please?

Bottles are in Cambridge

The bottles you have are the sort of bottles that we would probably be interested in buying. But, I am especially interested in where your father worked. One of the sad consequences of the amount of change that has taken place in the last 20-30 years in the wine industry is that stories about the British wine merchants are being lost. I would love to hear more about your father and where he worked, especially if you know of any links his company had with the port industry.

As a slightly left-field suggestion, would you consider coming down to London one weekday evening and being our guest at a port night? You say that you and your sister have saved some of the bottles for yourselves so you clearly have an interest in port. You would be most welcome to bring one of the bottles you are looking to sell so we can taste it and assess its condition. At the same time, we'll buy you dinner and share with you the port which we bring. That way you can taste your father's port and also get to taste some of the other ports which caused us to fall in love with this particular style of wine.

Alex

Also bear in mind, if you don't often get to London, that there are members of the forum in Cambridge.

thank you all for the advice and comments. It has been a real eye opener finding such a knowledgeable and helpful forum of people on the subject.

As the bottles weren't stored optimally I will follow the initial advice and try the two lowest level bottles to see how they are.