Three bottles of vin jaune (yellow wine) from Jura’s 1774 vintage will be auctioned by Christie’s in Lons-le-Saunier later this month.
The wine is believed to be one of the oldest in the world, and is expected to fetch up to €40,000 per bottle.
The 244-year-old wine is being sold by descendants of 18th-century winemaker Pierre Vercel, who came from a long line of acclaimed winemakers dating back to the 1300s. It’s thought that Vercel himself made the wine in the French region of Jura during the reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI.
According to Christie’s: “Vin jaune wine is also known as yellow wine because of its deep rich golden colour. It is a special, characteristic type of dry white wine made from the local grape called Savagnin.
“It is similar to dry fino sherry and gets its character from the maturation in a barrel under a film of yeast, known as flor in Jerez, Spain and as voile in this region. Unlike Sherry it is not fortified though and has natural alcohol level of only 13-15%.”
The sale, which takes place on 26 May, will also feature the last remaining 99 bottles of other wines from the Vercel cellar.
