wsky1
Port Ellen2018 release70cl

Port Ellen 1978 39 Year Old 2018 Release

£2,700
▼ 25%vs 12 months ago

latest hammer price

Rare at auction· 2 lots a year

Auction lots

34

Houses

1

Last sold

324 days ago

Port Ellen 1978 39 Year Old 2018 Release is a collectable Scotch whisky from Port Ellen aged 39 years, bottled in 2018. Based on 34 recorded auction lots across 16 months of trading data, the current median hammer price is £3,500, with the most recent sale at £2,700. Over the trading window, prices have ranged from £2,500 (low) to £4,800 (high). Accounting for lot-to-lot variation, a realistic valuation range for Port Ellen 1978 39 Year Old 2018 Release is £2,484–£2,916 (±8% around the latest sale).

Year-on-year, Port Ellen 1978 39 Year Old 2018 Release is down 25%, with a 6-month trend of -20.6% (down). wsky1 aggregates hammer prices from major public Scotch whisky auctions including Scotch Whisky Auctions, Whisky Auctioneer, and Bonhams. All prices are in GBP and exclude buyer's premium (typically 24–28% additional at major houses). Past auction performance is not a guarantee of future value.

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About Port Ellen

Port Ellen is a whisky distillery. Port Ellen 1978 39 Year Old 2018 Release is an age-stated bottling at 39 years old, distilled in 1978, released in 2018.

What drives this bottle's value

  • Closed / ghost distillery

    Port Ellen closed in 1983; bottlings from its original era are finite and command a scarcity premium at auction.

  • Single vintage

    Distilled in a single year (1978), so the available batch is inherently finite.

  • Considerable age

    A 39-year age statement reflects long maturation and the small surviving volume that implies — older stock is scarcer.

These are scarcity and demand signals drawn from the bottle's own attributes — they describe the bottle, not a prediction of future price. Not investment advice.

Release & bottling facts

Distillery
Port Ellen
Age
39 years
Vintage
1978
Bottled
2018
Bottle size
700ml

Latest sale

£2,700

24-month median

£3,500

24-month high

£4,800

24-month low

£2,500

Estimated value · likely range

£2,484–£2,916 ±8%

Auction hammers swing lot to lot with condition, fill level and timing. Treat this band — not a single figure — as the bottle's value.

Market presence

last 12 months

Rare at auctiononly a handful of lots a year

Seen at auction

2 lots

Cadence

≈ every 183 days

Trend

▼ 67% vs prior year

Houses

1

Activity rank

top 36% of tracked bottles

Last seen

324 days ago

Across the auction houses wsky1 tracks.

▼ 20.6%vs 6 months ago
▼ 25%vs 12 months ago

Price history (monthly median)

£2,425£3,685£4,944May 19Jan 21Mar 23Jan 25Dec 25

Recent auction results

MonthMedianLots
December 2025£2,7002
April 2025£3,0002
February 2025£2,5002
January 2025£2,7002
March 2024£3,2002
March 2023£3,8002
February 2021£3,4002
January 2021£3,2002
December 2020£3,6002
January 2020£3,2006
October 2019£3,6002
September 2019£3,6001

Comparable bottles

Frequently asked questions

How rare is Port Ellen 1978 39 Year Old 2018 Release at auction?

Port Ellen 1978 39 Year Old 2018 Release appeared in 2 auction lots over the last 12 months across the auction houses wsky1 tracks — rare at auction (only a handful of lots a year). That is down 67% on the previous year. That puts it in the top 36% by auction activity among the 35,289 bottles wsky1 tracks — most collectable bottles hammer only a handful of times a year.

What is the current auction price of Port Ellen 1978 39 Year Old 2018 Release?

The latest hammer price for Port Ellen 1978 39 Year Old 2018 Release at auction is £2,700. Across the most recent 24 months of auction data, the median hammer price is £3,500, with a high of £4,800 and a low of £2,500. All prices are in GBP and exclude buyer's premium. Data is aggregated from major auction houses including Scotch Whisky Auctions, Whisky Auctioneer, and Bonhams.

How much has Port Ellen 1978 39 Year Old 2018 Release changed in value over the past year?

Port Ellen 1978 39 Year Old 2018 Release is down 25% year-on-year based on monthly median hammer prices. Over the past 6 months it has moved down 20.6%. Past auction performance is not a guarantee of future value.

Where can I sell Port Ellen 1978 39 Year Old 2018 Release?

Port Ellen 1978 39 Year Old 2018 Release regularly appears at major Scotch whisky auction houses including Scotch Whisky Auctions (Scotland), Whisky Auctioneer (Scotland), Just Whisky, Whisky Hammer, and Bonhams. The current median hammer price is £3,500 (excluding buyer's premium). At most major houses, buyer's premium adds 24–28% on top of hammer for the buyer; sellers typically receive the hammer price minus a sales commission of 5–15%.

Is Port Ellen 1978 39 Year Old 2018 Release a good investment?

Over the past 12 months Port Ellen 1978 39 Year Old 2018 Release has moved down 25%, with a current median hammer price of £3,500. The bottle has been observed at auction across 34 recorded lots in our database. wsky1 provides hammer-price data for informational purposes only — not investment advice. Whisky is an illiquid alternative asset; secondary-market value depends heavily on bottle condition, fill level, label integrity, and timing.

How does wsky1 calculate the price of Port Ellen 1978 39 Year Old 2018 Release?

wsky1 ingests public auction results from major auction houses (via direct scraping of Scotch Whisky Auctions, Whisky Auctioneer, Bonhams, and Whisky Hammer, plus aggregated data from WhiskyHunter). For each bottle, we group hammer prices by year-month and compute the median price per month. The figures shown — latest £2,700, 24-month median £3,500 — are derived from this monthly-median methodology. All prices are hammer prices in GBP, excluding buyer's premium.

Does the price include buyer's premium?

No. All prices on wsky1 are hammer prices only. Buyer's premium at major Scotch whisky auction houses currently runs at 24–28% on top of the hammer price. A bottle of Port Ellen 1978 39 Year Old 2018 Release that hammers at £2,700 would cost the buyer approximately £3,402 all-in including buyer's premium.

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