Selling Port Constantino's Harvest 1900 MDCCCLXXVII

[C. Antunes]

Hi from Portugal,

Just found this beauty at my grandma cellar...
Anyone could help me on evaluating it ?
I go very often to the UK, so I could deliver it in person.

I can send photos, just drop me an e-mail

Thanks in advance

Cheers,
Carlos
Tel. +351 93 310 86 40

[Glenn E.]

Hi Carlos,

There is a listing for Constantino's Colheita Port 1900 at Garrafeira Nacional in Lisbon. Their price is 675 Euros, so if yours is the same it could be quite valuable.

Here is the link if you want to check it: Constantino's Colheita Port 1900

[Eric Menchen]

There's a slightly cheaper bottle available in London at about 640 Euros,
http://www.vintagewinegifts.co.uk/cgi-b ... 5426#a5426
This is also a colheita, bottled in 1971. What is this bottle you have? You should post some photos. I'm confused by the "MDCCCLXXVII". Is 1877 the vintage year and 1900 the bottling year? Or is 1900 the vintage, and the 1877 is something else?

A very interesting find in any case.

[Andy Velebil]

Hi Carlos,

If you could add your full first name to your username, that would be appreciated as we are a "real names" forum and require it.

As to your bottle, I need to ask a few questions before any type value could be guessed.

Where has the bottle been stored? (kitchen cellar, basement, was cooling passive or active air conditioning, etc.)

What is the fill level of the bottle. Which is the level of wine below the cork.

Is there any signs of seepage or leakage from the cork (stains or sticky)

Can you post a picture of the bottle or a link to the picture. That helps us in determining value.

Thanks

P.S. I've also sent you an email.

[Glenn E.]

There's a slightly cheaper bottle available in London at about 640 Euros

Yeah but since he has a Portugal phone prefix, I figured I'd link him the one in Lisbon.

The roman numeral 1877 is perplexing... I wonder if that's a typo and it's supposed to be 1977, which might then be the bottling year?

If he hadn't said it is a Port, I might have guessed that 1877 is the Solera and 1900 is the bottling... but I don't think Solera ever applies to Port. A close up picture of the front and back labels would definitely help!

[C. Antunes]

Dear All,

I'd love to answer all the questions, but in spite of being portuguese, I'm not a wine expert, well... I'm trying, special the part of tasting it, or should I say drink it ! i do love the red wines from the Douro...

I'm kind of confused because the picture I saw in the Garrafeira Nacional
https://www.garrafeiranacional.com/pt_p ... ita-porto/
I can tell the bottle is diferent.
My bottle was botlled by the Costa Pina & Vilaverde (it's old and well known company) and it seems that Mr. Vilaverde was the first owner of the Constantino's brand and farm.

The seal (top of the bottle) that is show at the Garrafeira picture looks like a modern one... My seal looks like an handicrafted one...
Also, there is a label at the back of the bottle... "Costa Pina & Vilaverde"
hope this info can be useful to help you.

Here are some pictures:






Cheers,

Carlos

[Andy Velebil]

Carlos,

I've sent you a private message.


The questions I've asked require no knowledge about wine. Storage and fill levels are quite important to the resale of a bottle and it will be all but impossible to sell without answering the questions about storage, bottle fill levels, and prior seepage (leaking).

It appears the bottle has had prior signs of leakage. Does that appear to be the case?

Again, what is the fill level like? Is the liquid inside above or below where the neck of the bottle meets the actual bottle itself. You may need to use a flashlight to see.

[Glenn E.]

Carlos,

The capsule or seal at the top of the bottle can vary from bottle to bottle, especially on older bottles. It is possible that either your bottle or the one at Garrafeira Nacional has been re-sealed at some point, which is a reasonably common practice in order to help preserve older bottles.

It looks to me like your bottle is otherwise the same as the one at Garrafeira Nacional, so you might have a very nice bottle of Port. Andy's questions will help resolve that, because as he mentions the fill level and known storage conditions of the bottle affect its value.

As far as the roman numeral goes, my guess now that I've looked at the pictures closely is that's the year that Constantino's was founded. It is on several bottles from different vintages that are listed at Garrafeira Nacional.

[Andy Velebil]

What is interesting is the bottle does not have Constantino molded onto it. All the very old colheita's i've seen from them have had this molded bottle. That's not to say this is wasn't bottled at another time, but my understanding was constantino's was all bottled in Gaia. I very well could be wrong and will try to find out. As we know there can be a lot of different bottles used back then.

[Glenn E.]

Yeah, this bottle is also darker and has a more rounded shoulder than the one on Garrafeira Nacional. (If you look closely at the G.N. picture, you can see the fill level in the neck.)

Good eye on the moulding... I hadn't noticed that.

[Eric Menchen]

As far as the roman numeral goes, my guess now that I've looked at the pictures closely is that's the year that Constantino's was founded. It is on several bottles from different vintages that are listed at Garrafeira Nacional.

I was suspicious that that might be the case before I saw the pictures, just like Warre's puts "1670" on their bottles; and having seen the pictures, I agree with you Glenn. But I searched an old book and couldn't find anything on this company, so it remains an unconfirmed theory for me.

[Eric Menchen]

They certainly have some neat things there at Garrafeira Nacional.

[Roy Hersh]

Yes but they're also notoriously expensive. That doesn't mean that one can not find a good deal there, but I have been in to visit them and the pricing is not always the most competitive. Nonetheless, their unique bottles are hard to beat. I have some great photos from this shop from earlier this decade.

It should also be noted that when a private individual is selling a bottle of Port such as this, the pricing commanded has little to do with what it sells for at retail. A retailer is making typically 25-40% on a bottle that they buy. Often times, these types of rare bottles in shops are put on consignment and the owner will be paid based on the final selling price. A private sale is very different and is obviously less than even what an auction price would be.

[Eric Menchen]

Yes but they're also notoriously expensive.

I saw that too. There were plenty of neat old bottles, a few good deals, a lot that I've seen cheaper elsewhere, and a few that were multiple times more expensive than prices I've seen here in the US.