130-Year-Old Wine Cache Unearthed Beneath Czech Castle Chapel Floor
A collection of 133 bottles dating from the late 19th century, likely hidden during World War II, has been restored and put on display.
Archaeologists have unveiled a cache of 130-year-old wine discovered beneath the chapel floor of Bečov Castle, a nearly 700-year-old medieval fortress in the western Czech Republic. The collection comprises 133 bottles dating from 1892 to 1899.
The alcohol was likely concealed at the end of World War II, when the castle and its grounds were confiscated by Czechoslovakia. The previous owners, the Beaufort-Spontin family, had been labeled Nazi sympathizers.
Discovery and Restoration
While the display is recent, officials have known about the wine for decades. The bottles were first uncovered in 1985 after an American businessman, hired by the Beaufort-Spontin family, sought permission to retrieve a hidden item. This prompted authorities to discover the cache.
Following the discovery, experts tested the wine's quality in 2016 using a Coravin device, a tool designed to extract wine samples without disturbing the cork. The bottles then underwent careful restoration by the French winery Château d'Yquem before being put on display at the castle in June.
Ideal Preservation Conditions
Toni El Khawand, Château d'Yquem's cellar master, described the wine's preservation as benefiting from "very good conditions." The bottles were stored in an old underground chapel characterized by thick walls, high humidity, and consistent cold temperatures. According to El Khawand, these factors maintained a stable moisture and temperature environment, which proved ideal for preserving the wine over generations. Preservationists even retained the accumulated dust on the bottles as part of the restoration process.
Discoveries of aged food and drink are rare but have occurred elsewhere. In early 2024, archaeologists in Alta, Utah, uncovered a 150-year-old bottle of alcohol at a former mining town. Experts later determined this find most likely contained apple cider. That bottle was also sampled using a Coravin device by High West Distillery.