Eight bottles of Chateau d’Yquem, a prestigious French sweet white wine produced over 130 years ago, have been restored after being hidden beneath the floor of a Czech castle since World War II. The bottles, dating from 1892 and 1896, were rediscovered at Becov nad Teplou castle in western Czech Republic, where they had been concealed by a noble family suspected of Nazi collaboration.
What happened
The Beaufort-Spontin family, former owners of the wine collection, fled Czechoslovakia at the end of World War II, leaving behind 136 bottles of rare wine beneath the castle chapel floor alongside the historic Reliquary of St. Maurus. The cache remained hidden until the 1980s when communist secret police found the shrine but left the wine in place. In 1984, an attempt by an American businessman to recover the wine led to its detection, and ten years ago, a focused recovery operation began.
Chateau d’Yquem, located in Bordeaux’s Sauternes region and producer of the original vintages, meticulously restored the eight bottles from the late 19th century. The winery verified the authenticity through laboratory tests and carefully replaced corks and protective capsules. Due to gradual oxygen exposure, five bottles now remain fully intact.
According to Toni El Khawand, Chateau d’Yquem’s cellar master, tasting the wine was “a magical experience,” noting its surprising freshness and complex aromas including cedar, dried fruit, saffron, cinnamon, nutmeg, chocolate, coffee, and oud. The wine’s high sugar content helped preserve it over the decades.
Why it matters
This restoration offers a unique glimpse into wine production from over a century ago and preserves a rare artifact of cultural and historical significance tied to European history and heritage. Instead of auctioning, the Czech National Heritage Institute plans to display the entire collection, estimated to be worth around $5 million if sold.
The preserved wine acts as a “liquid memory” and honors those who crafted it, bridging past craftsmanship with contemporary appreciation. It also emphasizes the importance of cultural preservation amid turbulent historical events such as World War II and communist rule in Central Europe.
Background
Chateau d’Yquem is renowned worldwide for its premium sweet white wines from the Sauternes region of France. The Beaufort-Spontin family, Earls of Becov, owned the collection before fleeing post-war Czechoslovakia due to suspicions of Nazi collaboration. The castle and its religious relics have been subjects of restoration and preservation efforts since the fall of communism.
This discovery follows recent high-profile unveilings of historic wine collections, including a Georgian trove containing bottles linked to historical figures like Napoleon Bonaparte and Joseph Stalin, highlighting ongoing global interest in preserving vinicultural heritage.
Sources
This article is based on reporting and publicly available information from the following source:
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