Question for the day:
If you had way too much money and you could afford to
purchase this bottle,
Would you carefully place it in your cellar?
Pull the cork and drink it?

Just curious,
Dick

On 07/27/2011 07:35 PM, Dickr wrote:
> Question for the day:
> If you had way too much money and you could afford to
> purchase this bottle,
> Would you carefully place it in your cellar?
> Pull the cork and drink it?
>
> Just curious,
> Dick

Hi Dick,

I'd put it in the cellar for a few years to ensure it was fully settled,
then fly my very best friends in and enjoy it. 200 years is enough
aging, even for Yquem. Anyway, you can get it for less:
http://www.evinite.fr/sauternes-chateau-d-yquem-1811.

I cannot imagine spending that for a bottle of wine, no matter how much
money I had. The money could house a family for a year or more, for
goodness sakes! Anyway the issue is never likely to become a moral
dilemma...

-E

On Jul 27, 11:35*am, Dickr > wrote:
> Question for the day:
> If you had way too much money and you could afford to
> purchase this bottle,
> Would you carefully place it in your cellar?
> Pull the cork and drink it?
>
> Just curious,
> Dick

I'm not sure why to risk buying what may be an undrinkable bottle of
wine that is more of a curiosity piece.

On Jul 27, 12:35*pm, Dickr > wrote:
> Question for the day:
> If you had way too much money and you could afford to
> purchase this bottle,
> Would you carefully place it in your cellar?
> Pull the cork and drink it?

I would not buy the 1811 d'Yquem in the first place. The year 1811 is
very famous for some wines and political events. Michael Broadbent has
tasted the 1811 d'Yquem multiple times, as recently as 1998, and rates
it as 4-star on a 5-star scale. He also has tasted many other bottles
of d'Yquem from the 1800s, and rates several of them as 5 star out of
5-star. However the 1847 stands out, and Broadbent calls 1847 the
greatest ever Sauternes vintage. He has tasted the 1847 d'Yquem
multiple times and gives it his rare 6-star out of 5-star rating. He
tasted it as recently as 2001. Others that tasted the 1847 along with
Broadbent also liked this wine very much. If I could not find the
1847, I would select the 1864, 1865, 1869, 1875, 1893, or 1896 which
Broadbent rates at 5-stars at best, but because of possible bottle
variation, I would want to taste a sample of any of these before
buying at auction.

I would store it in my cellar for at least a few years. If I won a
huge lottery amount, I would buy two bottles, drink one bottle in a
year or so, and then keep the other bottle as an investment.

On 7/28/2011 1:04 AM, cwdjrxyz wrote:
> On Jul 27, 12:35 pm, > wrote:
>> Question for the day:
>> If you had way too much money and you could afford to
>> purchase this bottle,
>> Would you carefully place it in your cellar?
>> Pull the cork and drink it?
>
<interesting information snipped>
>
> I would store it in my cellar for at least a few years. If I won a
> huge lottery amount, I would buy two bottles, drink one bottle in a
> year or so, and then keep the other bottle as an investment.

I would hesitate in purchasing anything breakable as an investment.
Accidentally drop it on the floor and it's gone.

Dick

On 7/28/2011 1:14 PM, Dickr wrote:
> On 7/28/2011 1:04 AM, cwdjrxyz wrote:
>> On Jul 27, 12:35 pm, > wrote:
>>> Question for the day:
>>> If you had way too much money and you could afford to
>>> purchase this bottle,
>>> Would you carefully place it in your cellar?
>>> Pull the cork and drink it?
>>
> <interesting information snipped>
>>
>> I would store it in my cellar for at least a few years. If I won a
>> huge lottery amount, I would buy two bottles, drink one bottle in a
>> year or so, and then keep the other bottle as an investment.
>
> I would hesitate in purchasing anything breakable as an investment.
> Accidentally drop it on the floor and it's gone.
>
You could insure it like that catastrophic NZ wine shipment.

--


James Silverton, Potomac

I'm *not*

On Jul 27, 11:35*am, Dickr > wrote:
> Question for the day:
> If you had way too much money and you could afford to
> purchase this bottle,
> Would you carefully place it in your cellar?
> Pull the cork and drink it?
>
> Just curious,
> Dick

I'm not sure why anyone would buy this other than for curiosity. Is it
even drinkable?

On Jul 28, 12:14*pm, Dickr > wrote:
> On 7/28/2011 1:04 AM, cwdjrxyz wrote:> On Jul 27, 12:35 pm, > *wrote:
> >> Question for the day:
> >> If you had way too much money and you could afford to
> >> purchase this bottle,
> >> Would you carefully place it in your cellar?
> >> Pull the cork and drink it?
>
> <interesting information snipped>
>
>
>
> > I would store it in my cellar for at least a few years. If I won a
> > huge lottery amount, I would buy two bottles, drink one bottle in a
> > year or so, and then keep the other bottle as an investment.
>
> I would hesitate in purchasing anything breakable as an investment.
> Accidentally drop it on the floor and it's gone.

I have a bottle of Constantia (either 1791 or 1809) and a few other
older wines from the 1800s, mostly Madeira and Tokaji Essencia. All
were bought many years ago at auction at a very small cost compared
with the mentioned 1811 d'Yquem. They come up so seldom at auction,
that I have no idea what they are worth now, other than likely much
more than I paid. It took me at least 10 years to find the Constantia
and win the bid for it. I have these bottles, some of which could not
be replaced for a long time, if ever, wrapped in plastic bubble wrap
and in individual boxes that will withstand a drop much more than to
the floor. The Constantia is in a wooden box. I have burglar alarms
and also fire alarms and live close to a fire station. I live at a
high elevation where flooding is not possible. Of course an airplane
could crash into my house or a severe tornado destroy everything
including myself, but loss of wine likely would be the least of my
worries if this happened. Some very old wines have been re-corked.
However many that have not been have a heavy sealing wax capsule. One
does need to check from time to time for cracks in the wax and re-dip
the necks in sealing wax if cracks are found. For exampe, most of my
old vintage Madeira uses sealing wax, and original labels, when
present, often are stenciled on the bottle glass. The only thing
keeping some such older bottles from leaking is the sealing wax. The
corks are often so far gone that the most effective way to open the
bottle is to use hot port tongs to break the bottle neck off below the
cork.

of course one question is how many of the Yquems that Broadbent tasted multiple times were from Hardy Rodenstock.