If you’re a wine aficionado then you’ll love this – 168 bottles of French Champagne were found at the bottom of the Baltic Sea, off the coast of Finland, in 2010. The 170-year old bubbles had been resting in near-perfect conditions for ageing (minimal light and between 1 and 4 degrees celsius) for decades, so good in fact, that they were quaffable!

Whilst the bottles were taken by the local government, scientists managed to get a sample for testing. Although the labels on the bottles had mostly disintegrated, the corks still had faint images of what houses they came from, and scientists could decipher the Veuve label amongst others.

Cue one of the greatest wine tastings of all time: a genuine vintage bottle of Veuve compared to one from this day and age.

Their results show that the Baltic versions contained lower alcohol content and higher sugar levels than their modern-day counterpart.

Philippe Jeandet, a professor of food biochemistry at the University of Reims who led the team, explains the differences:

“Many of these chemical differences can be explained by steps in the production process that were less controlled than they are today. Today most champagnes contain low levels of sugar that are added at the end of the process,” says Jeandet. “The Baltic wine we analyzed contained at least 140 grams of sugar per liter, as compared to about 6 to 8 grams per liter used today.”

A colder average climate could explain the lower alcohol levels (thank goodness for global warming, right?!). Additionally, higher levels of iron, copper, sodium and chlorine were noted, which could be the results of the”use of metal- and wood-containing vessels during the manufacturing process”.

Also, back in the 1800’s, “copper sulfate was often used for the control of disease in the vineyard, as opposed to fungicide containing organic compounds used today,” says Jeandet, accounting for high levels of copper compounds. The heightened levels of sodium and chlorine could be from added salt, which was used to “help stabilize wine during the 19th-century manufacturing process”.

Let’s get on to how it tasted:

Initially, the experts described the Baltic wines with words such as “animal notes,” “wet hair” and “cheesy.” However, after the wine was swirled a bit in the glass, providing some much needed oxygen, it took on a whole new character. Once it had a chance to breathe, the champagne was described as “grilled, spicy, smoky, and leathery” accompanied by fruity and floral notes, according to the paper.

Some of the bottles have been auctioned off for around €100 000 each. Jeepers, I know of a place where you can get perfect MCC for a fraction of that price just down the road from us. The rest… well, the good news is they didn’t go towards the booze at an ANC celebration but rather are in museums.

[Source: The Smithsonian Mag]