Someone bought a $250 bottle of wine in the 1970s and then forgot about it in the basement. Now the price can be 80,000 dollars.

• A California man is selling a rare bottle of wine he kept in his basement.

• Mark Paulson He said he bought the bottle in the 1970s for $250, but left it unopened for decades.

• Auction house management The sale He estimates the bottle could fetch between $50,000 and $80,000.

A California man A bottle of wine he bought in the 1970s and never opened can fetch tens of thousands of dollars.

According to the report The Washington Post, Marc Paulson bought a bottle of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tachen in the 1970s and left it in a cardboard box, unopened, for decades. Paulson originally bought the 1971 bottle for $250 – in Today it is equivalent to $1,889. When adjusted for inflation.

“It’s been sitting in the basement of my house for all these years,” he told the Post. “I didn’t think about it that much.”

But now it’s headed to auction, where it could fetch $50,000 to $80,000. According to the auction, Bonhams Skinner.

The 3-liter bottle is extremely rare

Paulson was working as a commercial painter when he bought it. However, he was interested in rare and high-class wines.

In the late 70s, Paulson met a San Francisco-based wine tasting group, Roger Brandt, a wine owner friend who convinced Paulson to buy a bottle of La Teche because it was a “once in a lifetime thing.” according to The Washington Post.

The bottle is a Jeroboam known as a double magnum, equal to four standard wine bottles. According to Bonhams Skinner, around 1,300 cases of La Teche are produced annually, most of which are standard 750ml bottles. Very few 3-liter bottles are made, and the quality of the wine itself is considered exceptional.

Despite his reputation, Paulson never had the right opportunity to open it – now he never will

After doing some internet research, he found Paulson’s son Article about the Bonhams Skinner sale In the year A similar bottle of 1971 La Teche in October 2022 for $81,250.

The story continues

“We were so shocked. You know, upset. We couldn’t say anything. We hugged and smiled a lot,” Paulson said. The Washington Post.

Bonhams Skinner is handling the sale of Paulson’s bottle of La Teche and five other vintage bottles dating from 1795 to 1870.

“We see amazing bottles every day, but this one, coupled with the story of how he got it and how important it was to his life, was something I’ll never forget,” Bonhams Skinner’s Louis Krieger, vice director of fine wine, said in a statement shared with Insider.

A bottle of wine can be estimated at the auction house. They sell for $50,000 to $80,000 When it goes up for auction between April 16 and 26, though, Paulson hopes the final sale could top $100,000.

If so, Paulson – who He admits that he is more of a beer drinker these days – He said he would pour himself a glass from the rest of the bottle of wine.

Read the original article on Insider