Ancient champagne from 1780s found on shipwreck in Baltic Sea

Divers discovered what might be the world's oldest drinkable champagne in a shipwreck in the Baltic Sea. After tasting one bottle, they claim it tastes 'fantastic.'

Seven Swedish divers discovered the bottles of champagne on July 6 off the Finnish Aaland Island, mid-way between Sweden and Finland. About 30 bottles are thought to be aboard the ancient sunken ship, sitting at a depth of about 200 feet. Diving instructor Christian Ekstrom told Daily Mail: "We brought up the bottle to be able to establish how old the wreck was. We didn't know it would be champagne. We thought it was wine or something." After opening the bottle and trying some he said, "It tasted fantastic. It was a very sweet champagne, with a tobacco taste and oak." According to Sky News, the champagne is "believed to be from the house of Veuve Clicquot, founded in 1772 and possibly part of a consignment sent by France's King Louis XVI to the Russian Imperial Court." If confirmed, this will be the oldest champagne still drinkable in the world, due to ideal conditions of cold and darkness. The oldest recorded champagne still in existence is a bottle of Perrier-Jouet from 1825, but this latest discovery is believed to be from the 1780s. Ekstroem said: "We have contacted champagne makers Moet & Chandon and they are 98% certain it is Veuve Clicquot. There is an anchor on the cork and they told me they are the only ones to have used this sign." A sample of the champagne has been sent to Moet & Chandon to be analyzed. Ekstroem asked Aaland wine expert Ella Gruessner Cromwell-Morgan to taste the champagne. She said it still had its fizz and was "absolutely fabulous". "I still have a glass in my fridge and keep going back every five minutes to take a breath of it. I have to pinch myself to believe it's real," she said. Swedish wine expert Carl-Jan Granqvist said each bottle could auction for £50,000 if found genuine, and if the corks are intact and the champagne is drinkable. "If this is true, it is totally unique," he said. "I don't know of any other (drinkable) bottle this old. I've never even heard of it." The remaining bottles of this newly discovered treasure are being left on the bottom of the sea, for now.