Wine is often known for getting better with age, but one man’s bottle, initially purchased for $250 in the 1970s, could now rack in as much as $80,000 at auction.
Even though he had forgotten about it in a cardboard box in his basement for years, Mark Paulson’s bottle of 1971 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche is considered one of the most prized wines in the world.
The 72-year-old retired commercial painter recently stumbled upon the bottle he bought years ago, finding it unopened and still intact.
Instead of popping the cork and having a glass, Paulson did his research and found that the worth of the wine has far surpassed what he once paid. Now, he is auctioning off the bottle through the Bonhams Skinner auction house, where it is expected to sell for $50,000 to $80,000, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The large price tag on the bottle isn’t due to inflation, but instead because it comes from Burgundy, France, a region Louis Krieger, Bonhams Skinner’s deputy director of fine wines, says is “unequivocally one of, if not the greatest winery in the world.”
Krieger spoke with The Washington Post about the wine, saying that many experts believe the winery makes the “purest expression of pinot noir.”
Krieger also noted that the reason the price is so high is because of the scarcity of the wine put out by the winery, with only 1,300 cases of La Tâche being produced each year.
Paulson spoke with the Post about his investment, noting that a friend who helped him get into wine insisted he shelled out the $250 for a bottle that he said was a “once-in-a-lifetime thing.”
While his friend had not steered him wrong up until that point, Paulson said he “didn’t even hesitate” in purchasing the bottle of wine, which he is now auctioning today. However, while he often drank the wine he purchased, the bottle of La Tâche sat in his basement, unbothered.
Now, the former painter will get a nice payday for his investment and for trusting his friend all those years ago.
“It’s just been sitting downstairs in my basement for all these years,” Paulson said. “Never really thought that much about it.”
Down the Audacy app and follow 97.1 FM Talk.
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | TikTok
Related
Related
