For sale - 1959 Chianti

[UnholyJoely]

Hi everybody!

So... I have this bottle of wine from 1959. It says 'CHIANTI - Fattoria Le Palaie'.
My aunt recently passed away, and she had it in her basement.

My knowledge of wine is basically zero, and I'm wondering how much this thing is worth.
And I could use some cash. [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img]
Does anybody have a rough idea of it's value?
Should I just put it up on some local auction site? (I'm from Ontario, Canada).
What would be the best places to sell this thing?
I believe it's been stored in a basement all these years, probably at room temperature.
I know nothing about storage either, but I imagine this would be important!
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!

[Kcwhippet]

Welcome to the Wine Board, Joely. Firstly, I've never heard of Fattoria Le Palaie, and I can't find any mention of it anywhere. That leads me to believe the winery doesn't exist anymore and may not have been in the top tier in it's day. At any rate, a Chianti that's 50 years old would be undrinkable. All that to say your wine isn't worth anything monetarily. It's only value would be sentimental to you.

[wdonovan]

"It's only value would be sentimental to you."

I'm thinking it may be worth more at auction. [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb/wink.gif[/img]

[UnholyJoely]

I just thought the older the wine the better, kind of like whisky. Haha, silly me.
So you think it's undrinkable. Like, totally rotten huh?

[This message has been edited by UnholyJoely (edited 09-19-2009).]

[Innkeeper]

Unlike whisky, wine is a living thing; and different wines have different livespans. Yours had a short one.

[dananne]

As stated above, not all wines are meant to age, nor can they all age. In fact, I'd guess 9 out of 10 wines on the shelves today are meant to be consumed within the next 3-5 years, at the most. Very few wines can go 50 years and not become vinegar. Yours has long since gone to the great beyond. Sorry.