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£12k wine ‘may be undrinkable’
A bottle of fine wine sold at a London auction last week could be undrinkable, despite the £11,750 price-tag.
The bottle is particularly valuable thanks to the “V” symbol on the label (Photo: Bonhams)
The ultra-rare bottle of Château Mouton Rothschild 1945 was sold to a private collector by auction house Bonhams for the sum that equates to nearly £1,000 per glass, according to Bloomberg.
However, chances are that the wine is oxidised, due to the “ullage” – or the the space between the wine and the bottom of the cork – being below the neck of the bottle.
Richard Harvey, Bonhams’ global head of wine, told the news service that this “points to an increased chance of the wine being oxidized and undrinkable.”
Harvey suggested that if it wasn’t for the risk of the wine being spoiled, it could have fetched twice the £10,000-£15,000 estimate.
The bottle is particularly valuable even with the risk of oxidation because of the “V” symbol on its label, in reference to the Allied victory over the Nazi Germany in 1945.