Port at Auction

[Roy Hersh]

Within the last 14 mos. going back to the beginning of 2012, is the trend moving towards or away from the nearly extinct rarities of Port in lieu of more mainstream offerings at auction?

[Moses Botbol]

The rare stuff is few and far between IMO. '55 and older becoming quite limited at auction.

[Al B.]

There is a lot less rare stuff at auction now than a couple of years ago. Back then, you used to be able to rely on 19th century port turning every month or couple of months somewhere in the UK. No-one would be interested so I'd often be able buy these for a very modest amount - about the same cost as a bottle of Fonseca 1966.

These days, it's really unusual and when these bottles do turn up they are very expensive.

The other feature I've noticed at auctions in the last year is how the price of unknown bottles has soared. I used to pay £30-40 for an oldish unknown port. Today it is quite likely to sell for £200!

[Bradley Bogdan]

I haven't looked at general auctions more than the past year or so, but from trolling winebid and some of the private sale avenues for the last 3 or so, I've noticed the same thing as Al B. Little known houses are going for the same price range as the top wines of the given vintage, which seems silly to me.

[Luc Gauthier]

From a Canadian perspective ( Québec ), port auctions are held in conjunction with the SAQ .
So, obviously , from the start , port availability is small .
That being said , we don't get the cream of the crop .
Now , occasionaly we get something that grabs our attention .
This situation hasn't changed much in the last few years .

[Tom D.]

It does seem to be getting harder and harder to find older Ports at auction, and some of what does show up is just junk. This month's Chicago Wine Company auction seems to have some older colheitas and VP's (although I can't speak to condition). Doesn't matter, I'm on a buying moratorium right now anyway

[Derek T.]

Follow-up question (in retail prices):

Are FTLOP and other online Port forums responsible for driving up the price of these rarities?

For many decades "word of mouth" meant exactly that. In the past few years we have opened that knowledge up to many thousands that we have never met and certainly have never spoken to.

Seven years ago I bought (at near market price) a few bottles of Dow 1966 at £30 per bottle. Last month I bought a few bottles of Dow 1970 at £80 per bottle. That is not an inflationary increase.

The rabbit is out of the hat

[Miguel Simoes]

The upshot of that is that by that increase the price of the wine (and increases in the price of younger wine), you make it possible for the Port producers to continue to produce great wines, and for each of us and our kids to continue to enjoy it.

[Al B.]

Follow-up question (in retail prices):

Are FTLOP and other online Port forums responsible for driving up the price of these rarities?

For many decades "word of mouth" meant exactly that. In the past few years we have opened that knowledge up to many thousands that we have never met and certainly have never spoken to.

Seven years ago I bought (at near market price) a few bottles of Dow 1966 at £30 per bottle. Last month I bought a few bottles of Dow 1970 at £80 per bottle. That is not an inflationary increase.

The rabbit is out of the hat

I do think that we are collectively responsible for some of the increase in port prices we have seen in the last few years. Prior to the formation ftlop and other forums there were a handful of people who were interested in buying port and we were probably focused on only a small number of retailers or auction houses.

With the advent of the internet we are now
(a) more of us are interested in port
(b) we are more interested in port than we were
(c) we are more coordinated
(d) we have more access to more auctions than we used to have
Possibly there are still the same number of people buying roughly the same amount of port - but there are many more bids or buying enquiries since we are each bidding several times per year instead of just 2-3 times per year.

There's just no mature, quality cheap port out there any more We've bought and drunk (or cellared) it all.

[Eric Menchen]

While the old stuff may be more rare with increased exposure, we also have a better access to more sources for the young stuff, which for the savvy shopper I'd like to think has resulted in lower prices paid.

[Roel B]

There are some oldies and specials on auction at Winefields in Amsterdam, april 7:

1932 Gonzales, estimate EUR 120-220
1945 Kopke, estimate EUR 200-300 (really?)
1863 Leacock Boal, 1940 Sercial, 1952 Malmsey "Jubilee selection", mixed lot, estimate EUR 350-450
1996 Noval Nacional, single bottle, estimate EUR 250-350
1994 Noval Nacional, two bottles, estimate EUR 1500-2000
1934 JM de Fonseca Moscatel de Setubal - 2 bottles - estimate EUR 180-300