Wine has always been a very important aspect of the French culture. Wine has been in France since centuries, and the last 3 bottles of wines from the 17th century are now on auction in France. The bottles of French wine dating back to 1774 — and believed to be among the oldest in the world — are expected to sell for close to $70, 000 a pop at an auction later this month.
The 3 bottles of ‘goose bump - inducing’ wine include a vin Jaune wine which were made in France’s Jura region and have been carefully guarded by eight generations of descendants of 17th - century celebrated winemaker Pierre Vercel.
Vercel, who came from a line of 14th - century winemakers, is credited with inventing the Vin jaune – made and matured in a barrel under a film of yeast, which improves its longevity. The 87ml bottles are listed at $23, 000 but are expected to fetch double that. Two bottles from the same collection were sold at an auction in 2011 and 2012 for $67, 800 and $45, 000, respectively.
The bottles are among the last 102 bottles from Vercel’s cellar to go under the hammer on May 26 by auction house Jura Encheres. A bottle of white wine from 1811 will also be offered. It is said that the chemist Louis Pasteur, who was born in Jura and was a close friend of Vercel’s grandchildren, celebrated his entry into the Académie Française in 1881 with a bottle of 1774 vin jaune, then a relatively young 107 years old.
The wine bottles are 244 years old and are like nectar if you take a sip.