How hidden treasure has inspired a maritime revolution in wine maturation.
In the depths of the Baltic Sea, divers have struck liquid gold, igniting a new age of cellaring for wine producers. A search of many now famous shipwrecks yielded cases of immaculately preserved champagne, some dating back to approximately 1825. The finds have inspired a number of Maisons to push the boundaries in the way in which they cellar their wines, venturing beyond the realms of their dark, chalk caves.
Shipwrecked Champagnes – 1998 The Jönköping Discovery
The 1907 vintage ,Heidsieck Monopole Goût Américain had been in a watery tomb in the depths of the Baltic Sea for eight-two years when it was unearthed by a Swedish expedition in 1998.
The Jönköping had set sail from Gävle, Sweden in October 1916, destined for Saint Petersburg to supply the Imperial Army with three thousand bottles of the vintage champagne as well as cognac and ammunition, when a German U-22 submarine discovered it. The German officers marked the cargo as contraband and the Jönköping was sentenced to be sunk with the 1907 vintage still in the cargo hold.
Due to the perfect pressure and temperature deep in the Baltic sea, many of the original 3,000 Champagne bottles made it safely through this 90-year transcendence of time, with corks intact and no leakage.
After selling at auction, bottles can now be found either in personal collection or at prestigious fine restaurants like ,Atlas in Singapore selling at a staggering price of
This Article was originally published on Champagne Every Day
