This Prized Champagne Has Been Involved in Not One, but Two Historic Shipwrecks

Prior to the advent of aviation, traveling by way of the sea was the primary method of transportation for people and for goods. And on board many of those vessels — merchant and passenger alike — were bottles and bottles of Champagne. For ships in the former category, exporting internationally via sea freight was simply one of the most cost effective ways of shipping the wine, as it remains today. But for many passenger vessels, Champagne was a priority for the wealthy clientele.

Given the unpredictability of sea travel — especially before the invention of radar — shipwrecks were a common occurrence, and many Champagnes never made it to their final destinations. While it was always possible that bottles would sink, the odds of the very same vintage of one specific Champagne being involved in not one, but two of the most famous shipwrecks of all time are extremely unlikely. And yet, stranger things have happened.

On April 10, 1912, the RMS Titanic set sail from Southampton, England, at 12:00 p.m. with 1,500 bottles of wine on board. Of those 1,500 bottles, roughly half were Champagne, and they included a few cases of 1907 Heidsieck & C ° Monopole Goût Américain intended for first-class passengers.

Goût Américain, which means “American taste,” was much sweeter than today’s Champagne, with a dosage between 100 and 165 grams per liter. The Champagne flowed freely throughout the First Class Smoking & Drinking Rooms, where passengers could order a glass, play cards, and smoke cigars. It was also served during the lavish, multi-course dinners for first-class passengers.

In tragic circumstances, the Titanic struck an iceberg at approximately 11:40 p.m. on April 14, causing the vessel to sink to the depths of the North Atlantic the morning of April 15. With it went the remainder of the Champagne onboard — including the rest of the prized 1907 vintage.

But that wasn’t the end of this Champagne’s misfortune aboard seafaring vessels. Four years after the sinking of the Titanic, 3,000 bottles of the very same Champagne were loaded onto the Jönköping, a Swedish merchant ship bound for St. Petersburg. Many of the Russian Emperors had quite the taste for Champagne, and Tsar Nicholas II was no different. In 1907, he named Heidsieck & C ° a patented supplier of the Russian court and the bottles aboard the Jönköping were thought to be destined for his enjoyment.

To get bottles from France to Russia, it was necessary for schooners to travel through the Baltic Sea, a body of water notorious for its shipwrecks. On Nov. 3, 1916, the Jönköping joined the thousands of ships at the bottom of the Baltic when it was torpedoed by a German U-22 off the coast of Finland. And with it sank all 3,000 bottles of the prized Champagne.

While 1907 Heidsieck & C ° Monopole Goût Américain may have had some of the worst luck on ships in the early 20th century, what happened after the precious wine sank is nothing short of miraculous. Rather than succumbing to the elements, the bottles aboard the Titanic and those aboard the Jönköping were not just recovered, but they were still drinkable.

The Titanic wreckage was first discovered in 1985, and since 1987, there have been several expeditions dedicated to recovering the artifacts left behind. Among those pulled to the surface were a few bottles of Champagne — including the ill-fated 1907 Heidsieck & C ° Monopole. In 1998, Swedish divers had similar luck when they uncovered the remains of the Jönköping — including almost all 3,000 bottles of the 1907 vintage, all of which were perfectly preserved.

The two discoveries have been a cause for much celebration, providing an opportunity to taste a style of Champagne that no longer exists. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking, Hullett House in Hong Kong (now known as House 1881) hosted an intimate dinner that served as a recreation of the final meal served for first-class passengers aboard the ocean liner.

The 10-course dinner included a variety of dishes, including oysters in vodka sauce, poached salmon, chicken and lamb in mint sauce, and Waldorf puddings. No matter how impressive the food menu was, nothing could have distracted from the real star of the show: a bottle of the 1907 Heidsieck & C ° Monopole Goût Américain brought up from the wreckage of the famous ship in 1998. The hotel purchased the bottle a few years prior for a whopping $11,000, and its price was reflected in the cost of the meal — each diner had to fork over approximately $2,000 for a seat at the table.

Equally celebrated are the Baltic Sea bottles, which have been described as youthful, despite spending decades submerged in the brackish water. The Champagne is said to deliver banana and apple aromas and a rich palate marked by notes of roasted almonds and citrus.

Bottles of the famous shipwrecked Champagne are currently for sale at Atlas in Singapore, though only a lucky few will ever have the chance to sample it for themselves. 1907 Heidsieck & C ° Monopole Goût Américain is currently one of the most expensive Champagnes in the world, and the bottles at Atlas are currently listed for approximately $150,000.

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