For The Love Of Port

Greetings! I've come into possession of an interesting bottle of Madeira. Unfortunately, I haven't seen it yet. My friend tells me the bottle reads "1830 Malmaly Serial #232549 Selo De Garantia". I don't know enough about Madeira to know if she's mis-reading the label and it says "Malmsey", or if Malmaly is correct. Also, I can't find any information on this bottle thru my usual sources. Please Help!! We're considering placing this bottle in a charity wine auction in October, and I'm hoping to be able to say more about the bottle than "I love this stuff!" p.s. - The reason I listed the tasted date as 10/5/13 is because that's the night of the event, and if this is what I think it is, I'll be buying it myself!

Can you get a picture of the bottle (front at least, but front and back is better)?

That will really help people inform you as to what it is. As sometimes things aren't properly described to others and end up being something different entirely.

I have a Quinta do Serrado Malmsey 1830 with number 232249, so this may well be the answer...

I'm going to guess the Quinta do Serrado as well. It's a very well known bottle. Does it have 1830 Malmsey hand painted on the bottle in white paint?

Yes, the front of the bottle is hand-painted "Malmsey 1830" in white paint, with Malmsey above 1830. The neck label says "Selo De Garantia" , Madeira, no. 232549, Portugal, with the initials IVM below what looks like a Templars cross.

Quinta do Serrado then.
According to Alex Liddel's book, "matured in cask until 1935, then put into demijohns; bottled in 1988 prior to sale at Christies in 1989. From Camara de Lobos."

Thank you so much, Mr. Ifune. And to you, Mr. Anderson, "Tusen takk!" Which, hopefully translated correctly.
I have a copy of Liddell's book on the way from Amazon to pair with the Madeira for the Charity Auction. I found a listing for what appears to be the same bottle (except that the Christies printed label is intact) at Turville Valley Wines in Buckinghamshire, England for $1,666.25 US, but there doesn't seem to be a domestic source. It's like looking for Vin Blanc de Palmer - you can find it, just not in the US. Given the age and rarity, would you think I am safe setting the Fair Market Value at $2000 US for the Charity Auction in October?

Buck W. wrote:The reason I listed the tasted date as 10/5/13 is because that's the night of the event, and if this is what I think it is, I'll be buying it myself!

Hi Buck, send some details on the event time, location, etc. I might be interested in bidding!

Hello Daniel! For a full report of the event, go to www.bellevuelifespring.org and click on the Events tab. If travel isn't possible, but you'd be interested in bidding, we'll definitely make arrangements.

Setting an auction price is determinent on a lot of factors. You might want to seach the data bases for Christies; Sothebys Zachys; Hart, Davis, Hart; and Acker, Morell. I know they've sold bottles of this wine in the past. If you set it too high, no one might bid. Too low and the hammered price might be below expectatons.