Expert: Paul Wagner - 1/23/2009

Question
i have a bottle of Martell Medaillion VSOP Cognac that i found a 1980 ad for it in a french magazine that i was given its unopened and i just wanted to know how much it would be worth... i also have a courvoisier VSOP Brandy of Napoleon that said something about king George the VI if you can tell me anything about it

Answer
Hi Alberto

These are older bottles, but distilled products like this don't improve (or get worse) with age because the alcohol level is so high that they simply don't change much over time.  So unlike some fine wines, distilled spirits don't appreciate in value over time in the bottle.  Yours should be perfectly good to drink, but it won't have any higher value than a current bottling of the same stuff.

The reference to Geroge the VI may mean that it was bottled before 1952, when Queen Elizabeth was crowned.  But you'll have to check the wording very carefully on that.

Sorry I can't give you more exciting news.

Paul Wagner