Vintage Wine investment.

[sybaritical]

I've just inherited 18 bottles of Chateau Mouton Rothschild '96 and I have no idea what to do with it. It's way too valuable for me to drink and I have no idea either how to store it properly or sell it on to the right people. Can anyone with knowledge or experience help me out with some advice? Cheers.

 

[Johnny_5]

Paging Piobaire.....

 

[Piobaire]

1996 was a great vintage. No idea what they are currently worth. I'd check Wine Commune or some such for valuation. See what people are paying at the online auctions. I imagine though, people would want some insight into how they were stored for the last 12 years. Also, you can't just sign up and expect people to pay for very expensive wine when you have no track record.

Storage advice is easy. Mid-50s, constant temp, dark, no vibrations. You can probably rent a small locker at your local wine store. They can probably help you sell it too.

 

[sybaritical]

Thanks for your help Piobaire. As far as I can tell, the wine has been left untouched in a bond warehouse in London since it was bought, though whether or not this is good news or not, I have no clue.

I'll check wine commune for a valuation. Are there any other online sites that are worth me looking at?

 

[Manton]

Originally Posted by sybaritical

Thanks for your help Piobaire. As far as I can tell, the wine has been left untouched in a bond warehouse in London since it was bought, though whether or not this is good news or not, I have no clue.

I'll check wine commune for a valuation. Are there any other online sites that are worth me looking at?

Try winesearcher.com. That will give you retail price from a lot of different stores. The range is typically very wide. Also, keep in mind that you will not be able to sell your wine at retail, in all likelihood.

But you shouldn't sell it anyway. Get a little wine fridge. Store the wine for 20 years. Then drink it and be very happy.

 

[rach2jlc]

Originally Posted by Manton

Store the wine for 20 years. Then drink it and don't forget to invite me over for dinner when you do.
Fixed. I want to come too, though. I'll prepare the salad.

 

[Connemara]

Originally Posted by rach2jlc

Fixed. I want to come too, though. I'll prepare the salad.
I imagine you'll take extreme pleasure in tossing said salad.

 

[rach2jlc]

Originally Posted by Connemara

I imagine you'll take extreme pleasure in tossing said salad.
I KNEW when I saw that you had posted on this thread after me that you were going to say this.

lol

 

[bici]

here is my take...if you find out it's been stored properly in the warehouse (proper temp, humidity, dark place, no vibrations), i'd hang on to it. you don't just go to the store and pick up a bottle of this wine for dinner (easily).

from what i know, there are lots of bordeaux and burgundy wines that go straight from the chateau to warehouses and are stored there...even better, if you can find some paperwork showing the delivery was made directly to this warehouse from the chateau AND it was stored properly, this will aid you when/if you want to sell.

another thing to consider, if all the above checks out, sell half, keep the other half, but i would hang on to some regardless. as you get older, you might find yourself getting into wine more and then you'll kick yourself for selling it.

and as was mentioned in a previous post, some fine wine shops will buy up cellars and re-sell to the public...they often do their own analysis before buying, so they could help.

but let's get to the wine itself (i'm hoping this will convince you to save at least some):

- drinking window (a rough drinking timeline): now (with decanting) thru mid 2020s
- great reviews for this vintage in comparison to similar vintages from both wine tasting experts and in the wine drinking community (cellartracker)

my bottom line:
1) again, save some.
2) do some investigating and try to find out more about this warehouse and any records of sale, delivery and/or storage

cheers

 

[FrankDrebben]

+1 on sell half drink half. You, Sir, are a lucky man.

 

[Englandmj7]

Looks like that year fetches anywhere from $350-450 a bottle. Obviously depends on how it was stored, etc. If you want to sell them ASAP, get a rough appraisal from an online wine auctioneer and if you can locate an auctioneer in your area, do so in person as well. Could net you around $6000.

Everyone from Sotheby's, Christie's, etc may likely be interested (both hold wine auctions), but there are plenty of small wine auctioneers:

http://www.strakerchadwick.co.uk/

Acker is pretty well known as well. Think they are the top wine auctioneers:

http://www.ackerwines.com/

I would hold onto 5 bottles or so and sell the rest, unless you need the extra cash immediately.

 

[Zubberah]

Send one to me to appraise for you.

Very good wine if the least of all the 1sts IMO - Lafite, Margaux, Latour and Haut Brion all superior. Pretty label though ... Basd on track record of last 18 years Mouton should be relegated back to 2nd growth and LMHB and possibly LLC and Pichon-L moved to 1st.

 

[vinouspleasure]

I see you are in london. Here is a good faq by London-based berry brothers and rudd including the advantages of selling under bond (click the investment points link): http://www.bbr.com/fine-wine/investment I have bought a lot of wine from them and they have been very good. Its probably worth contacting them for advice.

 

[sybaritical]

Thanks for all the advice, I'm taking it all on board.

I'm still awaiting the paperwork, but I have a feeling that the wine is actually stored at the Berry Bros. and Rudd warehouse already which may help me out. In any case, I have to admit I was pleased to see that they're selling it for £344 a bottle as well ...

 

[HHD]

If it was stored at BB&R, that's promising news. Note that if you keep the wine there, you might need to pay an annual storage charge! Worth continuing to do this if you plan to sell when the wine is mature. If you can't pay storage, it would be better to sell straight away rather than bring the wine home and stuff it under the stairs in the hope of selling it later. Even though it might be safely kept in your cellar, the kind of people who pay big money for wine are understandably fussy about provenance and previous storage.

If I really had to sell, I'd keep six and sell the rest. Ten years from now, toast whoever left them to you and your good fortune!