Rudy the wine con man.

[Ferdelious]

Originally Posted by MonBK

Here is one.

Wow, the label looks incredible for a wine of that age.

[GB-man]

Originally Posted by MonBK

Here is one.

This guy says it's good. Pop it open and make a sangria

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6/9/2015 - BLAUWEISS LIKES THIS WINE: 92 Points
Dark brown colour.
Nose is complex, still fruity (!), with leather, tea, dried red berries, hints of mocca. Taste is dry, medium bodied, still with some life in the fruit and wery balanced acidity. Great wine and a outstanding piece of history as well!

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[MonBK]

Originally Posted by Ferdelious

Wow, the label looks incredible for a wine of that age.

It's because I send it in to WSC for service every 5 years.

Originally Posted by GB-man

This guy says it's good. Pop it open and make a sangria

Options
6/9/2015 - BLAUWEISS LIKES THIS WINE: 92 Points
Dark brown colour.
Nose is complex, still fruity (!), with leather, tea, dried red berries, hints of mocca. Taste is dry, medium bodied, still with some life in the fruit and wery balanced acidity. Great wine and a outstanding piece of history as well!

Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

Extremely.

[wantonebad]

Originally Posted by Abdullah71601

How do you authenticate spirits without sampling them Marc?

It's not like a vintage watch that can be opened up and inspected by an expert. This seems like an easy way to swindle people if the only criteria is the packaging.

It's not easy but there are usually clues left when amateurs repackage, even when they reuse bottles, the capsules aren't quite right, the fill levels are off and the juice is the wrong color. But if it is opened that's when you know. The distillate is the real proof, trained palates know when the juice is authentic.

[rr-nyc]

Originally Posted by MonBK

Here's another.

Here's a grail of sorts...a couple of 1982 Chateau Lafite we enjoyed while celebrating my father's 75th birthday a few years ago. Not to many of these laying around any more.

Two bottles with different ways of getting to the US. Bought as part of the same auction lot in 1996 and had sat next to each other until we drank them. They tasted nearly identical.

[amg55]

A very good read, thanks for sharing!

Selling high end Aust wine was my hobby some 10+ years ago. I would pick them up at an auction and resell them onto some of my regular clients, who were collectors. There are a few tips I can share when buying vintage wine. These aren't fool proof but it will help you to weed out the obvious bad bottles.

1. when you hold up a bottle against some background light or shine a torch through it, if the liquid is somewhat cloudy. I can guarantee you that it's gone off. Don't even try to sip it, it will be disgusting!

2. If the cork shows signs of bleeding, again it's going to be off. Basically, air has gone into the bottle. This isn't as easy to detect because most of the corks would have been covered by some aluminium capsules. So, if the capsule looks a bit untidy and liquid stains, leave that bottle behind.

3. When the level drops below the shoulder, the chances of it going off increases as the level drops lower. Natural evaporation does occur through the cork. I would only pickup wines that have level into the neck.

4. If the label looks damp or some water damage, the chances are where it was kept, the humidity isn't set correctly or the wine bridge had broken down. For really old wines, I would probably avoid these as well due to temperature fluctuation. Of the 4, this is probably the lower end of the risk scale but it's still a risk.

Happy drinking and collecting!

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