Uncommon previous champagne public sale may increase $ 10 million

Must have champagne

Source: Acker Weine

WASHINGTON – A rare bottle of champagne produced before the Titanic embarked on its doomed maiden voyage, before the globe was engulfed in World War I, and before Albert Einstein published his groundbreaking general theory of relativity, is up for auction this week.

Acker, the oldest and largest wine auction house in the country, is expected to auction 877 bottles of vintage champagne. Underneath is a bottle of Brut Imperial Moet & Chandon from 1911.

The entire sale, which includes more than 900 separate lots, is expected to sell for a staggering $ 10 million. The champagne vintages range from 1911 to 1943 and take the form of 323 magnums, 10 Jeroboams, two Methusalems and 30 half bottles.

Richard Juhlin, who holds the world record for tasting more than 13,000 bottles of champagne, shared his 1911 tasting rating of the Moet & Chandon ahead of the auction.

“The taste is exceptional with excellent length and intensity. Here, the dark forest aromas and smokiness were accompanied by a delicious caressing sweetness of dried fruit and crème brûlée, ”he wrote, adding that the wine’s mousse was“ very faint, but nice when “poured”.

The flavors are “deep and wooded with layers of wet stump, sculpted autumn leaves and black Vaucluse truffle”.

Juhlin, founder of The Champagne Club, stated that of the bottles going up for auction this week, there are only two bottles left to try.

“One of them is Salon 1928, which I’ve never tried and it’s supposed to be a legendary wine. The vintage is so great and Salon was absolutely amazing back then and it’s supposed to be one of the best wines they’ve ever made.” he told CNBC.

“The 1928 Salon and the 1928 Krug Collection, and all of the 1911’s, which are the oldest, are going to cost a lot of money in my opinion,” Juhlin explained when asked about the estimated retail price.

“But we come back from the pandemic and haven’t seen auctions for a long time and suddenly the biggest auction comes up,” he said, adding that it was “so difficult to speculate on prices”.

The auction will be streamed live on the Acker website on Wednesday and Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET.

“Considerable effort has been made to review this historic champagne selection and any bottles that are sub-optimal in color or condition have been removed,” Acker Chairman John Kapon said ahead of the auction.

“The bottles on offer in this auction are truly the crème de la crème of this collection. Such depth and breadth from Salon, Krug, Bollinger, Louis Roederer, Pol Roger and Pommery into the 1920s and Moet & Chandon into the 1910s bidding is truly a rare privilege for me as an auctioneer, “he added.