The Christie's auction house in London will auction the oldest wine in its history in a few days. Two cleanly corked bottles filled with red wine from the period between 1670 and 1690 are up for auction. 2010 they were recovered from a sunken ship by a diving team on the German coast. It lies 40 meters below the water surface. During the operation, the divers brought a total of 14 bottles ashore, which lay deep inside the ship in a wicker basket.
One bottle broke during the salvage, another one was opened and analysed by scientists from the Universitaire de la Vigne et du Vin in Dijon. According to this, at the time of sinking, the contents were a powerful red wine, not fortified. French scientists doubt, however, that it could still be drinkable. The value of both bottles lies in their historical significance, they stress in their analysis. Christie's has estimated their value at the equivalent of around 34,000 euros.
(uka)