Could your old whisky or wine be worth thousands? Yorkshire auction house reveals what collectors are buying
That old unopened bottle of Scotch languishing in the back of the cabinet, or the wine you bought on that trip to France still gathering dust in the cellar, could be worth more than you think.
The secondary market for fine wines, rare whiskies and vintage port is long-established. But it doesn’t have to be an expensive Bordeaux or Burgundy, a unique malt from a long-lost distillery or a niche collectable bottling, to attract the interest of buyers today.
New world wines, an eclectic case of quaffable plonk or unwanted gifts of classic spirits, can all be discovered in today’s auctions.
And one man who knows this market that better than most is Charles Hartley, director, auctioneer and valuer at Hartley’s Auctions Limited in Ilkley. He co-directs Hartleys with his sister, Emma Padgett. They are the fourth generation of family to manage the business, and Charles says it’s often the cellar or the drinks cupboard which can be the unlikely treasure-trove in a home contents valuation.
It’s amazing how much value can be there, and it’s often surprising to the sellers who think there’s nothing.
The wine picked up in Provence that year, or a whisky won in a raffle, could just turn out to be a little gold mine. Often at the time of buying people don’t know or realise the potential value later. One year’s difference in the age of a wine can make a single bottle worth eight of the same wine from a different year – if it happens to be a vintage year, Charles explained.
Clear the cellar: Deadline: October 23
The next wine, whisky and port sale at Hartleys takes place in November, but Charles and the team are already gathering bottles to sell. With the deadline for sale items coming in set for October 23, now is the time to get in touch if you want someone to assess the value.
“It’s always worth a check,” says Charles. Whilst wine and whisky might be better-known as saleable items, drinks like Cognacs or Chartreuse – a honey-based liqueur, collectable because of its scarcity and improvement with age – are sought-after too.
Valuations can be made in person or via an email consultation.
And if you’re a buyer – well, you’re in for a treat. Whilst serious collectors at Hartleys Auctions have in the past paid £4,600 for a single bottle of Le Pin – a delicious and highly valued oaky red from Bordeaux – or £9,500 for a 1946 Macallan Whisky, as an investment, there is also plenty on offer for the curious connoisseur with a more modest budget.
The wine, whisky and port sale is quite possibly the most fun of all our sections.
The seemingly insatiable whisky market remains strong. Macallan is always a big name but beyond that, vintage bottles from distilleries like the famous Islay names of Ardbeg and Port Ellen – producers once mothballed and revived – can fetch the kind of prices that could leave you in need of a reviving dram!
A bottle of Ardbeg 17yr old single malt Scotch whisky, produced in the 1970s and bottled when the distillery was closed in the early 1990s far outdid its top estimate of £600 and sold for £2,300 at Hartleys recently.
But as well as the serious old school collector, looking to invest in this market, Charles says their auctions also attract wine enthusiasts who want to ‘taste their way round the world’, whisky aficionados looking to add to their collections, and people who want to fill their wine rack or cellar with something they cannot get on the high street
And of course there will be boxes of cigars for the collector or smoker.
Bargains, fun and unusual gifts to be had
“It can be an affordable way to buy some interesting wines,” says Charles. “You can spend the same money as you would at a regular retailer but get something more unusual.”
There are always some tasty choices to be had for the curious connoisseur looking for something different for their dining table or drinks cabinet or to buy for a gift – a port from the year of birth for that special birthday, for example.
Once the bottles are all collected and the lots put together, they’ll be published ahead of the sale on November 21st . Buyers come from all over the UK to compete with those on the online bidding platforms.
“The sale never fails to come with an excited carnival atmosphere,” says Charles.
Fun and games this Christmas
The wines, port and whisky auction on November 21, offers everything for those wanting an investment or simply something good to drink. Before that the auction house will host a toy and collectors auction on October 10, and has regular home furnishings and collectors auctions.
Visit the auction calendar here for more dates and details.