1970 Warre Vintage Port

[edwardjnorton]

6 bottles of 1970 vintage Berry Brothers & Rudd own selection from Warre

I purchased these In the mid 1970s at BBR’s original St James St location and all 6 bottles were retained in their own storage (now in Hampshire) and have remained with them until today. I am now considering selling these, either per bottle or as a 6 bottle case (preferred). No original wood case was purchased but they can be supplied in a current BBR 6 bottle wood case if buyer requires.

Recently in Aug 2025 BBR sent me some photos of the bottles and labels for visual verification and I attach 2 of these showing all 6 bottles in full and closer view of the labels. Higher resolution copies available on request.

I understand that these bottles are now quite rare, hard to find in top condition and highly rated in tastings. But being no expert in the vintage port marketplace I would appreciate any feedback with a) informed estimates of what they might retail for per bottle or as a case and b) How best to offer them for sale in UK or overseas.

Edward Norton

[mcoulson]

Hi Edward, since your port is already sitting with BBR you might like to consider placing these bottles on the BBX exchange

https://www.bbr.com/bbx

To give you an idea of what is available right now have a look here

https://www.seckfordwines.co.uk/product ... es-vintage

so that tells you the retail price for your bottles - but note thats NOT in Bond ....

Then it's all a case of how patient you are and how much seller charges you are prepaired to stomach - BBX is 10% for example

If you could get somebody to offer £80 a bottle I'd take it assuming that they are not in bond, if they are in bond you would need to get them released first.

Of course if they were mine I'd just drink them and enjoy them ...

Cheers

Martin

[edwardjnorton]

Hi Martin - and many thanks for your reply.

I did ask BBR about BBX auction and they told me that they only auction items from bonded storage and as these bottles are duty paid no can do. They did offer buy-back at £46 / bot but this seems too low for me so I am therefore looking into a private sale. I will def take a look at Seckford Wines and review their info about this vintage.

I would love to take delivery and do some drinking but sadly medical restrictions prevent that!

Thanks and kind regards

Edward

[rich_n]

Hi Martin - and many thanks for your reply.

I did ask BBR about BBX auction and they told me that they only auction items from bonded storage and as these bottles are duty paid no can do. They did offer buy-back at £46 / bot but this seems too low for me so I am therefore looking into a private sale. I will def take a look at Seckford Wines and review their info about this vintage.

I would love to take delivery and do some drinking but sadly medical restrictions prevent that!

Thanks and kind regards

Edward

It's worth noting that Seckfords will allow you to sell anything held by them through their exchange, so if you were to move it there that could be an option where it would be listed until sold at your preferred price.

I think it's also worth taking into consideration that while you listed this as a 1970 Warre, the fact that it's BBR means it won't be valued in the same bracket as the likes of Warre. I do think £46 a bottle is a touch on the low side but you may not find a buyer if you're expecting to get a valuation in the region of the likes of Warre, Dow, etc as it won't (I believe) be the exact same blend as the 1970 Warre and therefore isn't quite as appealing.

[winesecretary]

It should be noted that all of the tasting notes on the BBR 1970 on this forum are equivocal at best. I am not a buyer even at £46 so on that principle I’d sell at that price. Seckfords might do better for you.

[edwardjnorton]

Thanks for the replies with information and suggestions. All welcomed and well noted. I will look into the logistics of transferring to Seckford's storage and listing for sale on their exchange. I am in no hurry and will take the time needed to evaluate all options.

Edward