1991 Grahams Vintage - Case of 12 for sale

[kenkesey]

Hello there,
First of all hope everyone has had a good new year so far and had a good Christmas.
I was given a case of 12 bottles of 1991 Graham's vintage port when I was born; I am now at university and rather in need of some extra money as most cash strapped students are. Occasionally I like to drink port but at the moment unfortunately money is a little more important! The case has never been opened and been stored in a cool, dark cellar the right way up for the entirety of it's life.
I'm not looking to make a huge profit and am willing to give it away at a lower price in return for a quick and easy sale.
PM me or post on here for any more information.
All the best,
Tomos.

[DRT]

Hi Tomos,

Welcome to

Were in the world are you? It will have a significant influence on the advice we can give you.

Derek

[Andy Velebil]

Tomos has also posted the same on and I've asked a number of the usual relevant questions HERE

[RAYC]

If you are UK-based (guessing from your name), Graham 1991 is available from a well-respected wine merchant for c.£500 for a case.

I don't think you can expect to sell for that much - it is already quite a high price for that port (if i were in the market to buy some, i'd be tempted to wait for 6 months for another case to come to market) plus you have the disadvantage of being a private seller (which from a purchaser's perspective makes this a riskier transaction, since there's less assurance about the storage history of the wine and less chance of getting money back if the bottles are bad).

THRA may have better data, but i suspect you may get £250-300 if you put this up in an auction in the UK (e.g.: Straker Chadwick). Perhaps up to £350 on a good day. But less on the wrong day!

[jdaw1]

As a start, as we don’t yet know the specifics, you might wish to see our standard advice for such situations.

Standard advice to would-be vendors

Some new members of ThePortForum.com join because they have a bottle, or some bottles, for sale. So we have jointly composed this standard advice, that covers the most frequently-seen situations. Of course, some more specific advice might follow after.

First, hello and welcome. We welcome such visitors, from the likes of whom we have bought bottles and cases in the past.

Second is less good. Your bottles are unlikely to be worth a lot. Selling at auction, through one of the big auction houses, is likely to net you about half the retail price. (Auction prices are less than retail which is why wine merchants buy at auction, and there is the seller’s commission and transport costs.) Selling to a wine merchant is likely to net you about the same, half retail. As a guide, vintage port (rather than LBV, Crusted, or other types), of a good name, from a good year, four or so decades old, of good provenance, might be as much as £100 a bottle. If not all these ducks are in a row, it will be less. So this will not pay for a car or a holiday: sorry.

So our usual advice is not to sell.

If you were given these bottles as a christening present, we advise that you hold them. When you are thirty or forty years old it will give you great pleasure to open these bottles with friends bottles you will have owned since you were a toddler. (Recall Alan Clark on Heseltine: ‟he had to buy all his furniture”. Your friends will have had to buy their own wine; yours came to you as a child.) Selling will net you small money; holding and drinking later can give you great pleasure.

If you are the father of the vendor, a teenager with non-vinous uses for money, then you are probably the best purchaser. Buy, and share with your offspring when they are old enough to regret having sold.

But if, despite all this, you still want to sell, then we might be the best purchaser. Please describe what you have, and post a picture of the bottle or of the unopened case. When did you acquire it, and where has it been stored? And where is it now located: which country (UK? USA? Other), and approximately where within that?

[kenkesey]

Hiya everyone,
Here is the rest of the info I expect you would like to know.
I am located in London, UK.
The bottles have been stored in an original wooden case on their side.
The corks are all still as normal and the fill levels are all normal, there is no leaking.
The cellar has been in London, UK. Temperature variations are minimal.
I read that post and yes in an ideal world I really would not like to sell this port but if I can get a decent price for it then im afraid I will

[jdaw1]

FYI, Justerini & Brooks has it at £40.20 per dozen, taxes paid. Half of that is ≈ £240 for your dozen. It is not a whole pile of money.

[DRT]

£40.20 per dozen, taxes paid.

I think JDAW means "per bottle".

[jdaw1]

£40.20 per dozen, taxes paid.

I think JDAW means "per bottle".

Oops: I meant per bottle.