Hi everyone,
I’m hoping someone here might have some knowledge or insight.
My uncle worked for many, many years in a Danish wine retail chain. He recently moved into a care home, and my partner and I have taken over his apartment along with a storage room in the basement.
While going through his things, we found a number of old bottles — and a few of them really stood out because of their age. Specifically, we found three bottles all labeled as vintage 1961:
a 37.5 cl bottle
a 3 liter bottle
a 6 liter bottle
They were all stored on his shelf and wrapped in cling film (like plastic wrap), which makes us think they may have been kept more as collectibles than for drinking.
We’re curious if anyone knows anything about wines from 1961 — was it a notable vintage?
Does this sound plausible/authentic?
Also, if they do have value, where would be the best place to sell something like this?
We’re not interested in opening them ourselves, but would rather pass them on to someone who would appreciate them.
Any input would be greatly appreciated!
by DueProtection8168
7 Comments
I’m curious if this is a troll post or not. “Is a ‘61 Latour a good wine?” seems fishy
Wild find! 1961 is a legendary vintage. These are potentially very valuable but you’d likely require proof of provenance to sell them. That said, this is also an opportunity for you to drink a unicorn wine.
Large format bottles by nature age more slowly so I’d expect those to be in their prime. The opposite is true of 375ml bottles, so that may well be on the decline or not enjoyable.
1961 is a legendary Bordeaux vintage—one of the greatest of all time—and a 6L bottle of a first growth like Margaux from that year is probably worth on the order of maybe $15000 if I had to guess
You should be in touch with an auction house. They will need to address the condition of the bottles and the storage situation. If you can provide provenance these are potentially worth a small fortune. This is a very good vintage and an extremely rare wine in a very rare size format.
I’m wondering if we are being trolled.
To answer the questions:
1961 was a killer year in Bordeaux.
Chateau Margaux is one of the five premier cru estates in Bordeaux.
I’ll certainly appreciate then, I’ll even pay for shipping 🙂
Just for a reference, a 750ml 1961 Margaux in good condition is worth about $3000 US.
1961 is a legendary vintage. I’ll be opening one next saturday, so hope it’s still good. Danish here as well 🙂
Sorry to be direct but how good of a mental state is your uncle in? He ought to be able to tell you.
If real and in good condition, an auction house would be interested. [Here’s a local one that’s owned by a familiar British auction house and would likely be both interested and able to help.](https://bruun-rasmussen.dk/m/about/sell) Your uncle’s word would of course be helpful, if possible.