French news site L’Union reported on Friday that Pol Roger cellar master, Dominique Petit, has made the discovery of the century: 22 bottles of Pol Roger Champagne believed to be buried more than 100 years ago.
The Champagne bottles were discovered in the wreckage of Pol Roger’s cellar on the Avenue de Champagne in Epernay, France, which has been sealed off since it caved in after heavy rains in the winter of 1900. At the time of the disaster, which occurred almost exactly 118 years ago on February 23, 1900, Drinks Business reports, the entire facility collapsed, burying two million bottles of Champagne, along with barrels of wine. The bottles have been trapped there ever since.
The bottles were unearthed in January during a drilling session as the company broke ground for renovations to build a new packing facility above the historic site, reports Decanter.
“It has been part of the daily dreams, or nightmares, of Pol Roger for some time,” Laurent d’Harcourt, president of the house, told the Drinks Business earlier this month.
It gets better. Despite their estimated 120 years of age—the bottles are believed to be from Pol Roger’s 1898 vintage—some of the unbroken bottles contain Champagne that’s likely drinkable.
“The wine is perfectly clear inside,” Petit told L’Union. “The level is correct and the cork is depressed, which suggests that the wine is well preserved.”
Drink two and call us in the morning.