Very Old Champagne help needed!

[Griff Boy]

Hi ALl,

Due to the unfortunate passing of a distant relative on New Years Day ive been given a couple bottles of champagne which were found in her house.

Pics as below:



There are two bottles, one dated 1941 and the other exactly the same but dated 1942.

Questions are;

1. What are they worth?
2. How and to who would I go about selling them?

Cheers
GB

[XG332]

£15 each.


Cash or PayPal?

[Griff Boy]

XG332 said:

£15 each.


Cash or PayPal?

Ill think about it....... Nah :-)

[tezzer]

I did something similar on a wine forum, will try and look out the web address.

[tezzer]

http://www.wine-pages.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=f...

[Zod]

They're of curiosity interest only, but I think you'll find a buyer. I wouldn't expect much for them though.

[Bebs]

As previously pointed out they are sadly not worth a lot.
Firstly they are very old for Champagne and that counts against them. They will almost certainly be undrinkable and that determines the value. There are no 'collectors' that buy old bottles if they are not drinkable unless its just for display purposes. Had they been Dom Perignon, Perrier Jouet or any other well known house they would have been worth more. but these btls are from a small relatively unknown producer and are therefore worth very little.
I'd say £15-20 btl out of curiosity. I worked at Christie's wine department for 20 years and had bottles like these come in for sale, we would have turned them away on the grounds of little or no value.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news..

Why not just open them and try?

[Stoatman]

http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.asp...

This one of 1943 vintage looks like its worth a few hundred ?. Is this the same stuff .

[Bebs]

Stoatman said:

http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.asp...

This one of 1943 vintage looks like its worth a few hundred ?. Is this the same stuff .

That lot contains 7 btls and it is as I explained the Dom Perignon and the Krug that has the value.. nto the 5 btls:

Lot Description

Champagne de St Marceaux--Vintage 1943
Very good appearance (5)
Dom Pérignon--Vintage 1975 (1)
Krug--Vintage 1982 (1)
Above 7 bottles per lot

[Stoatman]

Ahh apologies , stopped reading at the first line as I was excited. I'll get my coat.

[Bebs]

No worries Stoat.. no need for coat

[Stoatman]

Cheers , its a shame though, as if I found those bottles I would be expecting them to be worth plenty. I guess if it was a nice red or something they would be a nice little earner.

[Bill]

I wonder whether, as it was produced in occupied France during the war, it'd fetch more in a WW2 memorabilia sale?

[Bebs]

Stoatman said:

Cheers , its a shame though, as if I found those bottles I would be expecting them to be worth plenty. I guess if it was a nice red or something they would be a nice little earner.

Its all about the producer and not the age. Example: a bottle of Beaujolais from 1945 is worth nothing.. far too old, undrinkable and was not made for keeping/maturing. A bottle of Ch Petrus or any Bordeaux first growth from 1945 would be worth plenty.

A skoda from the mid 80s is worth nothing. But a Ferrari 288 GTO is. Hope that explains.

[Davey S2]

Bebs said:

A bottle of Ch Petrus or any Bordeaux first growth from 1945 would be worth plenty.

Would there be a good market for single bottles though?

I know most auction houses / dealers dont usually do odd bottles but presumably there is an exception for particular producers / vintages?

O/T how many miles on the 360 now?

[Bebs]

First growth 45's are in the £1000+ now so most auction houses would take single btls if in good condition.

My 360 is on 95,000 miles now (152,000 km)

Taken a little while ago:

[Griff Boy]

Cheers for all the replies! Much appreciated, probably what I expected to hear, if not what I wanted to hear!

I'll get some orange juice and make done bucks fizz then:-)

On a plus note, just found out my mum and dad have inherited her house! I guess I could always give them a couple of bottles of champagne as a house warming present!