He inherited 400 bottles
By Louis de Lambert · published on
The notary gave them one value on paper. The auction house gave them another. Half as much.
It is a situation I have seen come up several times, in different forms: an inheritance, a gift, sometimes simply a resale after years of cellaring. And each time, the same problem resurfaces.
The bottle is there. The estate name, the vintage, the label: everything seems in order. But who can guarantee it has not changed hands in the meantime? That what is in the bottle really matches what is written on it?
Without answers to these questions, an expert can do only one thing: apply a precautionary discount. Sometimes a heavy one.
There is a lot of talk about the value of a cellar. Much less about what really holds it up: PROOF.
A bottle without proof is not a sleeping treasure.
It is an asset quietly losing value, year after year, without anyone noticing until the day it has to be passed on or sold.
A question for the collectors and enthusiasts reading this: if your cellar had to be appraised tomorrow, could you prove its history, or would people have to take your word for it?
