Is This The Oldest Bottle Of Bordeaux In The World?

Life is full of surprises, but when you find a bottle of Bordeaux from the 1700s lurking around your wine cellar, that’s a whole different kind of luck. For a historic Bordeaux winery, this is exactly what happened, and it’s causing a stir of excitement in the wine world. I wondered how such a treasure could stay hidden for so long. And just like I bet you are now, I wondered—what would it taste like?

Chateau Coutet is a world-renowned winery in the center of St. Emilion in Bordeaux. Fourteen generations of the same family have owned Chateau Coutet for almost 400 years. I visited Chateau Coutet and its heir Adrien David Beaulieu just over a year ago when the discovery was still being tested for authenticity.

I was awestruck by the sheer history Coutet holds. From ancient Roman pillars and walls to ancient cellars directly under the vines, it’s no surprise that such a gem was waiting to be found there.

What was Bordeaux like in the 1700s?

I want to paint a picture of what things were like back in the 1700s when this recently unearthed bottle was produced. At the time, most wines were sold by the barrel and only rarely bottled.

The vineyards were also different; many winemakers used a method called ‘foule’, whereby a mixture of up to 12 different grape varieties, both red and white, were planted on the same parcel. These grapes were mixed together when harvested. Regulations for separate red and white wines and the varieties that could be used in Bordeaux didn’t emerge until many years later.

Chateau Coutet was unusual for the time because they focused on winemaking as an art, rather than simply being farmers who produced some wine.

How was the discovery made?

How does such an invaluable bottle come to be found in the 21st century? By complete accident.

When you’ve had the same wine cellar since the 1700’s, things need fixing every now and again. A worker was attempting to move a broken wine rack in the cellar when he came across a pile of dirt underneath that seemed a little out of place. Curious, he sifted through the mound, and the discovery was made.

The Bottle

The bottle itself is unusual because of its specific sealing method. There is glass heart in the top of the bottle, and it’s sealed with emery to ensure no oxygen can reach the wine within. As the majority of Bordeaux wine at this time was sold by barrel and not bottle, let alone one this elaborate, you can only imagine the cost of such a special vessel. Adrien David Beaulieu believes it was likely produced for an important family wedding.

In terms of the wine within, it is strongly believed it is made of Merlot à queue rouge (red-stemmed Merlot). This was the most planted and most valuable grape variety for Coutet at the time.

Identification & Authenticity

Anyone can make claim to having found an old bottle in their cellar (and many wine fraudsters do), so Beaulieu knew that scientific evaluation needed to be carried out in order to guarantee authenticity. There was no way they were going to open the bottle itself, as that would invalidate their claim to the oldest bottle in Bordeaux, so it was the glass that needed to be tested instead.

They called on Mr. Guillot, a world-renowned glass expert. It took around four years of testing the chemical makeup, shape, and wear and tear of both the bottle and stopper to determine an age. The glassmaker who has been accredited as a ‘Meilleur Ouvrier de France’ (master in his trade), came to the conclusion that the bottle dates back to the 1750s, give or take 20 years.

Could you drink it?

Since there’s no plans to open this treasured bottle, there’s no chance of tasting it. The rule of thumb when it comes to Bordeaux is that a well-made wine will have at least 30 years in terms of improving before an additional 10-15 years of peaking. It’s important to note, however, that this depends on the climate, tannic structure, and particular vintage.

For a bottle that is over 200 years old, the chances are the wine is spoilt, so perhaps it’s not so bad that nobody will get a sip.

To date, the oldest bottle Beaulieu himself has drunk was a 1934 Chateau Coutet and the oldest bottle in the cellar with a label dates back to 1951. He is certain there are older bottles in the cellar, but they can only be identified by their cork and so require opening. There is however no other bottle that comes close to the 1750 vintage. That is, unless there are more treasures waiting to be unearthed in the cellar’s depths.

I originally wrote this article on Vivino, you can read this and many other interesting wine-related pieces here.