MARIEHAMN, Finland (AP) — An anonymous Internet bidder on Friday
paid euro54,000 ($78,200) for two bottles of 200-year-old Champagne
salvaged from a shipwreck at the bottom of the Baltic Sea, auction
organizers said.
The buyer from Singapore paid a world-record price of euro30,000
for a bottle of Veuve Clicquot and euro24,000 for a bottle of
Juglar. Both bottles are believed to be the oldest preserved
examples of their respective brands. The buyers identity was not
revealed.
The auction was held in the capital of the autonomous Aland
Islands, a Finnish archipelago situated between Sweden and Finland,
after divers found a shipwreck with Champagne and beer just south
of the islands in July last year.
Researchers believe the ship was probably en route from northern
Germany to the west coast of Finland when it sank in the first half
of the 1800s.
Divers found 145 intact bottles in the wreck that lies some 165
feet (50 meters) deep in total darkness and a constant cool
temperature — an environment experts say is the main reason the
bubbly kept in such good condition. There were 94 bottles of
Juglar, a now-defunct champagne house, 46 bottles of Veuve Clicquot
and four Heidsiecks.
John Kapon, auctioneer at the event, said the buyer now owns a
piece of history.
"This bottle was from the times of Napoleon and it's just
something truly special," said Kapon, who is CEO of Acker Merrall
& Condit.
Although connoisseurs haven't precisely been able to date the
golden drink they say it is from the early 19th century.
The proceeds from the auction will go to marine environment
charity projects, organizers said.
-- Yahoo!