Tuesday, 6 February 2018

A glass of 118-year-old Champagne for you sir?

Pol Roger has unearthed bottles of Champagne from the 19th century which have been buried beneath its cellars in Epernay for the past 118 years.

The local L'Union newspaper reported that the cellar master of Pol Roger, Dominique Petit, has discovered intact bottles of Champagne believed to be from the 1898 vintage in a sealed-off cellar.
Pol Roger has pondered for years whether there might be bottles buried beneath its facilities for many decades, and, using sonar technology, had recently detected a cavity beneath its site on the Avenue de Champagne in Epernay.

Now, having dug underground, it has been confirmed that there is a stash of historic Champagne beneath Pol Roger’s current headquarters.


It was trapped there in February 1900, when, after heavy rains in Champagne, Pol Roger’s cellar caved in, bringing down both levels of its facility, and destroying as well as burying the equivalent of two million bottles of Champagne. Barrels of wine were lost as well as bottles.

“The wine is perfectly clear inside,” Petit told L’Union, adding, “The level is correct and the cork is depressed, which suggests that the wine is well preserved.”

Although the exact date of the Champagnes has yet to be confirmed, it is believed the bottles are from the 1898 vintage.

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