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1811 Reserve Impeatrice Josephine Grande Champagne

I am trying to find out the value of a bottle of this cognac. I have an undamaged all seals intact. No leakage bottle. It was handed down several generations. It is in mint condition. As I said all seals and cork are fully intact Thanks
Answer From Expert Roger Bohmrich MW

It is certainly a bit of a surprise to receive another question pertaining to this 1811 Cognac, as I have answered two others inquiring about this very same item in the past year or so. With, apparently, numerous bottles of what is ostensibly a very rare spirit in numerous hands, I again have to wonder about authenticity. Rather than rewriting an earlier response, here are some of the observations I made to a previous questioner: "Potentially, your bottles of Cognac could be of real interest to collectors, but the value hinges on numerous factors. There is, first, the issue of authenticity: Are these bottles genuine or counterfeit? There are bottles matching your description which are being offered for sale, or are the subject of discussion. For example, in 2010, Christie's, the celebrated auction house, estimated what seems to have been this same Cognac (Sale 2384, Lot 164) at between USD 3,000 to 5,000, indicating the hammer price was in fact USD 7,200. They no doubt subjected the bottle to rigorous examination by in-house experts to verify its authenticity. There are, however, some other remarks from Cognac authorities raising some doubts, not specifically about the bottle sold by Christie's but about this Cognac generally." You can of course approach an auction house to determine their interest, and to obtain an expert appraisal.


About Our Expert

Roger has enjoyed a lengthy career in the wine trade as an importer and retailer, and at present he is an educator, speaker and consultant. He set up and managed Millesima USA, a New York merchant affiliated with a leading European company. Previously, he served as senior executive of importers Frederick Wildman & Sons. In recent years, Roger has judged wine competitions in Argentina, Turkey, Portugal, China and the U.S. Roger is one of America's first Masters of Wine.

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