Bollinger Discovered A Secret Room Filled With Vintage Champagne, Will Auction One Bottle In NYC
Do you get a little giddy after pulling a winter coat out of storage and finding a $20 bill in the pocket? Imagine, then, the thrill of discovering a hidden chamber filled with over 600 bottles and magnums of pre-WWII reserve wine for Bollinger Champagne. In the summer of 2010, that’s precisely what happened at this Champagne house in Aÿ. In fact, an intern had been sent to the subterranean tunnels of the property’s cellar to clean. During the process of removing a wall of empty bottles, another wall sealing off an abandoned chamber was discovered. Inside were the personal wine collections of past family members dating back to 1830. Bollinger was founded in 1829.
Through rigorous tasting and analysis, the wines were verified and identified. In 2012, under the guidance of Cellar Master Gilles Descôtes, a restoration project was started to save the rare bottles. All of the wines will remain in the Bollinger Wine Libraries with the exception of one. And that one bottle, comprising Lot 40, is the showpiece of Bollinger’s first ever auction, hosted by Sotheby’s in New York City on November 19, 2016.
I bet! 
Hammer price guesses?
"And that one bottle, comprising lot 40… " -Will carry a hefty pricetag, when hammered. Wow.
-I can partly remember a story about a French wine producer (Bourgogne ?), also hiding his most treasured bottles from the WWII Germans, by closing a cellar room with brick and mortar, and then also piling tons of empties in front. It worked, but He died before the secret was told on, and the stash was first discovered after 2000, when a family member was puzzled over some discrepancies between the cellars, and the original drawings. The bottles found there, are quite famous today, and the family sell some bottles each year. (-And something about a full cask 1929? Romanee Conti, achieved for the wedding of the farmers daughter, which later on was cancelled…)
Please correct Me, if You know the true story.
Kind regards, Søren.
Hmm… Secret room filled with old wine. Sounds familiar.
“[T]the event will feature a selection of rare wines that have never before left the winery’s cellars in Aÿ, France. In other words, the wines have perfect providence.”
Nice
Sad that was also my first thought.
When I was 20, a friend and I tried to buy the Mark Hopkins in SF. At the time, the economy was down and the managing group was looking to get rid of it.
It was for sale for 20 million bucks, and my friend’s girlfriend was a real estate appraiser.
We postulated that the land alone was worth the price, so we asked for a loan to buy by the place, using the bare land as collateral. The bank president worked with us and he thought it was so crazy, it just might work.
We worked hard at it, and just as I was thinking I would get to spend my life living in a hotel suite, it all fell apart. The original owners group got an infusion of cash from a Japanese company and ‘outbid’ us by 2 million bucks.
Anyway, just another get rich never scheme gone away, but the cool part was shortly thereafter there was a subbasement remodel that broke into a long forgotten wine cellar full of treasures.
That hurt.
I can’t find links anywhere! If anybody else recalls the wine story, help me with a link!
I’ve tried Googling the whole investment and wine story, but nothing!
Geraldo Rivera must be really pissed about this:
P84OKTUx6LY
I wouldn’t be so bold to answer your question. 
Perhaps God is the cellar master?
yes it’s sad to think your mind says ok 95% fake then you read it’s from the producer, you stop pause and ponder 90% good with 10% PTWD
post traumatic wine disorder PTWD …
and Todd… nice post …
Shalom !!!
Salute !!!
It’s not in Nice, it’s in Aÿ
Since the bidder can’t take the bottle, but has to drink it in the Bollinger cellar, a whole group of potential purchasers won’t be interested (investors, people who want to have the trophy in their cellar, etc.) I wonder how much lower the hammer price will be as a result.
Much of the luxury market is moving away from selling ‘things’ and trying to provide an experience in association with what they are selling. Going the direction of selling an experience actually opens this to a much larger market of not just geeks and collectors, but also those who might be inclined to pursue for the unique experience - and have the money to make it happen. I’d guess this route brings potential for a much higher final price, as long as they are marketing it to the right audience.
Premox?
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Or just ox.
Hmmm. When you’ve toured a few champagne cellars containing millions of bottles, you will realize that it would probably be possible to find a bunch of lost bottles, pallets, rooms any time you wanted. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are also a number of people down there who’ve been lost and not seen for years. (doubt if you could sell them at auction, though.)
Postox