I hope you get the bottles for a silly price Tom. Great stuff if you can nab it. I am skeptical when I see bottles without RESERVE prices at auction. Then again I am frequently skeptical about MOST bottles at auction anyway.
Sorry to have to move this, but it really is a MARKETPLACE type of thread.
If I was reporting a sale of Gonzalez Byass '75, I would agree that it should be a marketplace item. But 3 bottles of Noval '31 is such a rarity, I thought it worthy of the main forum!
I know your distrust of auctions, but there's very little old wine traded that hasn't gone under the hammer at some point.
Wine merchants are at best illusionists, and at worst shysters
I agree with you on most points and especially about the rarity factor of the '31s ... but with the "topic moved" left in the Port Forum ... people will see the 1931 Noval and naturally follow it here. 8)
Believe it or not, I do buy "gray market" older bottles and have purchased from auctions quite a bit in the 1990s.
As you do when you're bored, you play around on the internet and look to see what is happening in the wine world. I came across the fact that Sotheby's in New York sold 11 bottles of Quinta do Noval 1931 at auction on Saturday.
The bottles came from the cellar of Russell H Frye - who Serena Sutcliffe gushed about in her intro to the sale - so I guess that they have been well cellared and well cared for. These sold for £1,960 per bottle (levels into neck), £1,550 per bottle (top shoulder), £1,305 per bottle (base of neck), £925 per bottle (top shoulder) and £635 per bottle (top shoulder, believed QdN 1931). Prices include buyer's premium.
The Paris guide price of Euro 1,500 - 2,000 (£1,260 - £1,680 including buyers premium) looks realistic for three bottles that appear to be in pretty good condition when compared to the Sotheby's sale.
Tom - I've sent you a PM.
Alex
Last edited by Al B. on Thu Jun 08, 2006 5:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
Looks like there's a "glut" of QdN 1931 coming onto the market at the moment. I found two more that sold at auction over the weekend for the equivalent of £1,045 per bottle (base of neck and high shoulder).
I make that a Paris bid of Euro 1,255 ................
I got an email from the owner of a SQ this a.m. requesting my help to find a friend of his father's a bottle of 1931 Nacional. He mentioned price is no object. Until I saw this thread, I had no idea where I'd turn to let him know. Thanks guys. I love this place!
