If.....

[Philippe Borel]

..... you had attended the Heublein Rare Wine auction of 1977, $95 would have gotten you a bottle the 1820 of Abudarham Extra Bual Madeira from the cellars of Sr. Fernando Soares Franco.
The Sercial 1820, same provenance would have set you back only $90.
The 1811, the mythical 'comet', vintage 'Catherine Banks Madeira' from William H. Fearing, New-York would have cost you $180.

Same auctions but in 74, you could have been the successful bidder for a case (12) of the legendary Cheval Blanc 47 for $270. Current average price per bottle is around $10,000
(source: wine searcher.com)

..... moving away from Madeiras for a moment. If..... your ancestor had been living in London in 1909 and had asked his Butler to pick up some interesting wines at Berry Brothers the good man might have come back with a case (12 Bottles) of Hock from the 'Famous Auslese Wines from the Cabinett Cellars of the Duke of Nassau' Hocheimer 1786 (yes, 1786) for 96 shillings (12 shillings for one pound, right?) and perhaps a case of 12, yes a case, of Domaine de la Romanée Conti 1895 for 150 shillings Your ancestor could have sent a few bottles of Hock to Peter Reutter's great-great grand father as a token of his esteem.

And finally the Butler would have brought to his master's attention the notice on the Berry Bros. & co. wine list ' For use on board their Yachts, customers can save the duty on these wines and spirits by having them supplied direct from our Bonded Stock.'

Your ancestor DID have a yacht i believe........

Dream a little......

[Philippe Borel]

Sorry, so sorry...... Terrible mistake. It's 20 shillings to the Pound, not twelve.
I was thinking about the little known Quebec Shilling which is only 12 shilling to the Pound.
This is not a very well known fact. We do things differently in Quebec

[Roy Hersh]

What's 8 Shlllings per bottle in the scheme of life when you are paying those types of prices?

[Jim R.]

Phil (sorry, Californians are notoriously informal), I attended some Hube auctions and did not pick up any wines (drat). I wanted a bottle of the 17th century Russian tokay (which I had a chance to taste in the pre-auction tasting--thick, supple, rich, and vibrant) but was in my salad days and only got the invite because I was working at a major liquor chain at the time.

[Philippe Borel]

Similar story here Jim. Was able to attend and sample at pre-auction as i was in the hotel business.
They did peddle some impressive Tokaji, including the 1811 Essencia. Only non-fortified wine that
can match Madeira for durability. I could discuss Vin Jaune but Vin Jaune is not exactly a hot topic.
Not fortified, goes on forever. Came across a1764 in Arbois once, amazingly fresh.1764 was a long
time ago..... Louis XV was still King.....
Thank you for sharing. Next time let's find something to say about Madeira... to be on topic and
avoid the wrath of the moderators.... Maybe we can find a new twist about the 5 year old Blandy.....

Philippe