Expert: Paul Wagner - 12/11/2007

Question
My father bought a bottle of "yellow Cap port" in around 1939 it has no vintage date on it. It is a Quinta. from Balls Brothers of London. It has numbers on the bottom of the bottle A 4 S 3 UGB. Wondered if you know anything about it and if it would have any value? Glyn

Answer
hi Glyn

The fact that it doesn't have a vintage on it is a sign that it was probably made as a more serious ruby port, and not intended for long term aging. Before WWII many wine merchants in the UK imported their own wines in cask and bottled them in London.  This wine was almost certainly Ball Brothers' version of a serious ruby port, and would have been made to drink over the next five to ten years or so.  I am very concerned at this point about the cork.  Most cork companies suggest replacing wine corks after about 25 years, and this one is more than twice that old.  The result is probably that this wine is oxidized and showing its age.  You might find it a bit like a tawny port (the alcohol levels in port do tend to keep them alive longer than most wines) but it could be quite dead.

Does the wine have any ullage?  (This means that the fill level of the liquid is not all the way to the top)  If so, that indicates that the cork may have been leaking for some time.

With all of these caveats, it is very difficult to put a value on such a bottle.  It might sell for $100 or more at auction, but it might also scare most of the bidders away.  If it were mine, I would save it for a special occasion with family and friends during the holidays, and open it up.  ANd I would have a back-up bottle, just in case!

Hope that helps

Paul Wagner