Some Bernie Madoff wine anyone?

[mr x]

Bernard Madoff's wines and spirits go under the hammer

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011 ... der-hammer" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[mr x]

And the reviews are in. It's always fun kicking people when they are down, heh heh:

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/05/18/ ... ine&st=cse" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

“He was probably buying on name, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that,” Mr. Amatuzzi said. “It looks like he buys on value. He probably quantified these wines as he may a stock or bond.”

Except that a number of the wines are in poor shape — scuffed labels, depressed corks, poor fill levels thanks to years sitting in a room untouched. That seemed to stoke the ire of some enthusiasts, loath to imagine anyone not caring for their rare vintages.

“If you had Maserati, you wouldn’t park it out on the street,” an incredulous Mr. Siegfried said, who cited the half-bottle of Carneros Creek Pinot Noir from 1991 for sale. “It’s a decent wine, but the ‘91 really should have been drunk a while ago. That’s a half-bottle that’s way beyond its prime.”

Anyone buying that just wants a piece of Mr. Madoff’s property, he added.

All in all, the collection exposes some serious flaws in what otherwise might appear to be a respectable collection. Mr. Siegfried said. Despite the good wines, there is no clear sense of taste tying it all together.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he had someone mildly knowledgeable doing the buying for him,” said Mr. Siegfried, who has won numerous awards as a sommelier and has trained more than 300 wine captains.

Mr. Amatuzzi tried to place the collection in the context of the man.

“If you take out all the spirits, the wine alone is an interesting, eclectic and abridged collection,” he said. “There are definitely some heavy hitters and obscure bottles, but at the end of the day I’d say it’s more of an interesting footnote in the story of Bernie Madoff as opposed to a serious collection.”