200-Year-Old Bottles Of Veuve Clicquot And Juglar Champagne To Be Auctioned

STOCKHOLM -- Two bottles of bubbly, preserved for nearly 200 years in a Baltic Sea shipwreck, are heading for the auction block.

The government of the Aland Islands – an autonomous region of Finland situated between Sweden and Finland – said Wednesday it will auction off one bottle each of the oldest preserved examples of Veuve Clicquot and Juglar in the islands' main city of Mariehamn on June 3.

A total of 145 bottles of champagne were found 164 feet (50 meters) deep south of the islands in July 2010, including 95 from the now-defunct Champagne house Juglar, 46 from Veuve Clicquot and four from Heidsieck.

Experts have previously said the bottles, dating from the early 19th century, could fetch more than $70,000 each at auction.

Auction proceeds will go to marine environment charity projects.

Comments

[Chris Miner PhD]

09:34 AM on 04/27/2011

And what, pray, is the likelihood that any of this stuff will actually be drinkable?

[DanWJ]

02:24 AM on 04/27/2011

Just a quick look into the conditions at the shipwreck where the bottles were found:

The water pressure at 180 feet is abt. 80psi. The pressure in a champagne bottle (per Wiki) is 60-90psi. So there is not much pressure difference to force anything into, or out of, the bottle.

The temperature at the bottom of the Baltic sea is 36-40 deg F all year.

The salinity is low, only 0.7%

There is no oxygen in the water at the Baltic seafloor, because algae and cyanobacteria eventually sinks to the bottom, and their decay consumes all the available oxygen. There are almost no currents, tidal or other, to replenish oxygen levels

Almost no sunlight reach this deep, and the bottles were inside the wreck, so it is pitch black.

All things considered, not a bad place to store your champagne. As I live on these shores, perhaps I should go throw in a few bottles myself!

[Whats4Dinner]

08:22 PM on 04/26/2011

For those who say that it would not keep: http://io9.com/#!5695539/worlds-oldest-wine-and-beer-finally-gets-drunk-after-200-years

[jones]

05:30 PM on 04/26/2011

Yuck!!!

[horumar]

02:47 PM on 04/26/2011

is it drinkable?

[Crel Vogel]

11:06 AM on 04/26/2011

2010 (not vintage, as they mix years) Veuve was great if you can find the production date on the box definitely grab a few bottles. Henriot, as usual, was also exceptional. And... I know this sounds crazy, and it pains me to say... but the Costo Kirkland brand is really good.

All the haters below (and I am assuming above) who have a problem with people who have money and want to spend it, get over it. Go out work harder, invent something, create something that needs to be created open a business but stop whining. It is getting old.

If you had that kind of money you would do the exact same thing, maybe not on a 200 year old bottle of Champagne. But it would be on something of interest to you like a watch or a painting or a donation to your favorite charity (because you can write if off and need the tax deduction this year).

Just because people have money doesn't make them evil, well unless your last name is Cheney or Bush. Just as not having money doesn't make you a saint.

[ArnoldZiffle]

05:03 PM on 04/26/2011

Good info. And, the proceeds are going to help fund a worthy cause.

[AyeChart]

10:06 PM on 04/25/2011

The label on that champagne bottle remindsme:  I've been touting Bulleit Frontier Bourbon here off and on for more than a year,and it's gratifying to see it listed with two others as excellent bourbons in Playboy Magazine this month.

Faster than a speeding Bulleit!  It's Superwhiskey!

[dweezil52]

09:15 PM on 04/25/2011

Wonder how it mixes with Dr. Pepper or Cherry Coke.

[terriblyconfused]

03:33 PM on 04/25/2011

I love Veuve Clicquot but I'll bet this stuff is swill.

[TechYes]

08:09 AM on 04/25/2011

Underwater for 200 years? Only a fool would buy a bottle of seawater, no matter how old it is.

[lincutious]

05:48 PM on 04/26/2011

If the cork has an entirely dry cross section run between the seawater and the bubbly, the bubbly will still be good. Especially kept cool and without direct sunlight at the bottom of the ocean. Corking technique has not changed much since those days.

[TechYes]

06:30 PM on 04/26/2011

Only 164 feet down, probably not an anaerobic environment; organic material of any kind wouldn't stand much of a chance. I'd say the odds of it being drinkable are passing small.

[onlyaquarterdelusional]

03:12 PM on 04/24/2011

Sorry folks but for $70,000 you would have to be of the 'I have more money then I know what to do with it' crowd and have no problem spending it very foolishly. Rare ports or otherwise fortified 200 year old wine if stored under proper conditions may be still drinkable, maybe. 200 year old bordeaux, probably not. Maybe some sauternes or other dessert wine, possibly. The water pressure alone would have caused some salt to enter these bottles. This is strictly one of those 'I have something very few people have and therefore it's valuable' items. For $70,000, you could stock a decent wine cellar and spend a few years emptying it as opposed to buying one of these and looking at an old bottle filled with something you would never want to pour down your throat.

[Garspies]

05:16 PM on 04/24/2011

Of course you are right; however, billionaires don;t think like that.

[AquaBuddha]

09:41 PM on 04/24/2011

I assumed it was to be used for vinaigrette.

[SallySassalot]

11:03 AM on 04/24/2011

I guess I'm a wine noob, but what's so special about it being 200 years old? I'd think the "taste" would be absolutely awful!

Still, very glad the auctioned items are going to a good charity cause. Those richers need to donate money somehow.

[forestnfama]

12:24 PM on 04/23/2011

Drink to me, drink to my health cause you know I can't drink anymore. Drink to me, drink to my health, cause you know I can't drink no more........?????

[Tracy R Gibson]

04:50 AM on 04/23/2011

See now, I would have to drink it (supposing it is still drinkable) and therefore waste all that money and destroy the oldest, preserved champagne. Best that I not bid.

[forestnfama]

12:29 PM on 04/23/2011

Aw Tracy, Best live life to the extreme........it goes by fast enough..... ya can't eat gold either.....

[Ramus]

08:33 PM on 04/24/2011

Champagne does not improve with age..turns to vinegar or something. This would not taste good. Good the money goes to charity.

[Ira Meyers]

09:30 PM on 04/22/2011

What I would not give to taste it.