ESHER, England – Bacchus Wine Auctions leads off their May 1 sale with an incredibly rare find: an original and intact case of Barbeito Malmsey Madeira from the 1870 vintage. Absentee and Internet live bidding is available through LiveAuctioneers.

Managing director and auctioneer Chris Hambleton explains why this is such an unusual opportunity: “Vintage Madeira is a very strong market, especially in the USA, but usually one finds single bottles or small lots. There have also been issues with fakes. It is very rare to find a complete and intact original case compete with metal seals – the bottles are all in perfect condition and, of course, the provenance is perfect. It is always a dilemma as to whether to open a box like this, but older wines often suffer from leakage so it is important to check the levels, all of which are excellent.”

Aside from the 1870 Madeira, there are other rare gems to be found from the early 20th century, including bottles of 1928 Bordeaux and Calvados. For collectors preferring younger wines, there’s Cornas from Clape and Verset, a range of Burgundy from top producers including magnums of Leroy Chambolle Musigny 1969 and an excellent Bordeaux section featuring original wooden cases of Chateau Lafite, Latour and Leoville Las cases from the superb 1996 vintage among many other blue-chip wines.

The sale takes place at London’s prestigious 67 Pall Mall at 10 a.m. British time.

Bacchus Wine Auctions Ltd. is the UK’s only live auctioneer dealing exclusively with wines and spirits. All items are held in professional storage at Locke-King Vaults in St. George’s Hill, Weybridge.

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