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the Swedish port of
Gävle to deliver fine
spirits and wine to
the Imperial Court
of Tsar Nicholas II
of Russia. On 3rd
November, 1916, en-
route to its destination,
the ill-fated ship was
struck on its hull by a
projectile fired from
a deck gun on the
German submarine
U-22. Predict-
ably, the vessel
flooded and
began to sink,
eventually fall-
ing to its final
resting place
67 metres
below the
surface of
the Baltic
Sea. On-
board were
over 2,000
bottles of
Heidsieck
1907 Diamant
Bleu cuvée.
The ideal stor-
age
conditions of
the cold, dark
and relatively
low pressure sea
floor preserved the
bottles for over
80 years, until
the shipwreck
was discovered
by Swedish
divers, in 1997.
In a moment
of pure
excitement,
members of
the diving
team
opened
some
bot-
tles
to
test their quality, and were elated to
discover the content was delicious.
The rest of the bottles have been sold
in various auctions around the world,
averaging a price of $3,700 each.
That makes this bottle of bubbly an
ultimate purchase for many wine col-
lectors.
Ca. 1820 Juglar cuvée
In July 2010, Swedish divers dis-
covered a collection of 168 bottles
of champagne on a shipwreck 55
metres below the surface of the Baltic
Sea. Although the exact vintage of
the champagne is unknown due to
extensive label damage, many experts
agree they originate from the early
part of the 19th Century. The extremely
cold and dark storage conditions of
the sea floor preserved the bottles in
ideal conditions for the duration of
the 150+ years during which they
were lost. Quite astonishingly, when
initial tastings were conducted, it was
discovered the sparkling wine was
still drinkable. Further examination, in
November of 2010, revealed that,
of the bottles discovered, only three
originated from the world famous
Veuve Clicquot Grand Marque. The
other bottles were produced by the
now defunct champagne house Juglar.
Local authorities have recently decided
to auction off all of the bottles. They
are expected to sell for in excess of
$62,000 each.
1825 Perrier-Jouët
Seventy feet under-
ground, deep
within