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Hi, I was given 12 boxes of Fonseca Finest 1975 vintage port by my grandad who passed away 20 years ago. It's still in its original box. I've been thinking about selling it but wondered what people's thoughts were as to its price and how best to go about selling it. Thank you and I look forward to your replies.

Laura27 wrote:Hi, I was given 12 boxes of Fonseca Finest 1975 vintage port by my grandad who passed away 20 years ago. It's still in its original box. I've been thinking about selling it but wondered what people's thoughts were as to its price and how best to go about selling it. Thank you and I look forward to your replies.

where abouts are you located?

12 boxes as in 144 bottles of fonseca 1975?

it's a very fine wine. delicate, smooth and certainly ready to drink.

Oops no, 12 bottles! I live near plymouth.

Laura27 wrote:Oops no, 12 bottles! I live near plymouth.

would that be massachusetts?

what are you looking to get for these bottles

I know one of our board members is in MA.

I'm in NYC

G-man: there is a Plymouth in the old world Laura might be in England.

I should have been more clearer..I am in the UK! I'm not really sure about the price to be honest but I would appreciate peoples thoughts as to its worth so if I do sell them I don't get conned! Thanks.

It retails for £45 (e.g., at Ancient and Modern Wines), but is much much cheaper at auction. Others will have data, but I’d be surprised if recent auctions are much dearer than £20 a bottle for the purchaser, and so less for the seller.

If folks with hard data agree with that, it is barely worth selling.

Hi Laura,

I think my friends are trying to be kind but I think you need to know that 1975 is generally regarded as a very weak vintage. Whilst Fonseca is probably one of the better examples from 1975 it still suffers from the poor reputation of the vintage, which reflects badly on the price from the seller's point of view.

To demonstrate the problem, Fonseca produced three vintage ports in that decade: 1970, 1975 and 1977. The 70 and 77 both retail at between £120-£150 per bottle. The 1975 retails for less than half that price.

I suspect that Jdaw1's estimate of £20 per bottle at auction is low, and perhaps tainted by his general loathing of the 1975 vintage. That said, I would be very surprised if you could achieve much more than £25-30 at auction.

You might wat to call these people and ask them if they are interested in buying the case from you as a quick and easy solution given that they are based in Devon...http://www.wyliefinewines.co.uk/acatalo ... ut_Us.html

Good luck.

Derek

DRT wrote:I suspect that Jdaw1's estimate of £20 per bottle at auction is low, and perhaps tainted by his general loathing of the 1975 vintage.

An outrageous accusation, that might even be true,

Laura,

Unless you have an urgent need to sell these, I would suggest waiting 18 months or so before offloading them, as the 40th birthday market is likely to raise the price of 75's at the end of next year.

At the moment you will probably get offered £22-£25 per bottle for these, but if you wait until the merchants are hungry for stock next autumn, you will probably be able to hold out for £30 or more..

Hi Laura,
'"
It's my vintage .. I would we willing to offload two of your bottles, just for the fun of it (I'm saving up on '75s, planning to open them all up on my birthday).

However, I'm on the other side of the channel and even though I will probably be in the UK somewhere in the next few months, it won't be Plymouth.

If you're willing to handle this through the mail that would be great.

I live in MA and would buy the whole lot off of you, straight up cash.

Please send me a PM. I drive by Plymouth on the way to the Cape quite often.

Laura27 wrote:I am in the UK

mosesbotbol wrote:I drive by Plymouth on the way to the Cape quite often.

That's a very long drive

And a very wet one

at least he might end up with a case of port to drink on the way back

Hi Thank you everyone for your advice I may hang onto it for a couple of years then and take Uncle Toms advice.

Thanks again Laura

Laura27 wrote:Hi Thank you everyone for your advice I may hang onto it for a couple of years then and take Uncle Toms advice.

Thanks again Laura

Laura,

That is a good decision. Your best route to big prices for the birthday market is probably eBay, one bottle at a time. Vintage Port can go for very high prices through that route but there is an art in getting the description right so that the eBay Police don't de-list your entries before the auction ends. Feel free to drop by here in a18 months from now for more advice on how to dispose of your stash.

Derek

Cross-linking threads: also see Unopened Box of 1975 Vintage Fonseca.