"World's oldest champagne opened"
Posted: 16:37 Fri 20 Mar 2009
I found this particularly interesting:The [url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7954876.stm]BBC[/url] wrote wrote:The world's oldest champagne, bottled before Victoria became Queen, is still drinkable, with notes of "truffles and caramel", according to the experts.
An "addictive" bottle of 1825 Perrier-Jouet was opened at a ceremony attended by 12 of the world's top wine tasters.
Their verdict: the 184-year-old champagne tasted better than some of its younger counterparts.
There are now just two 1825 vintage bottles left - and Perrier-Jouet has no plans to open them soon.
Wine tastes have changed over the past 184 years - the 1825 vintage was sweet, and even had a little brandy added at the "topping-up" stage.
But it was this very sweetness that experts believe helped the wine to survive for so long, together with the five to six atmospheres of pressure within the bottle.