Czech castle's cache of precious wine goes on display in new-old bottles
Laboratory tests confirmed the bottles were authentic, and the winery returned five full original bottles after oxygen damage forced re-bottling.
- On Monday, June 1, 2026, Chateau d'Yquem Cellar Master Toni El Khawand presented restored 19th-century wine bottles at Becov Castle in the Czech Republic, part of a 136-bottle collection discovered at the castle in the 1980s.
- The Beaufort-Spontin family hid the collection under the chapel floorboards during the Second World War after being suspected of having collaborated with the Nazis, prompting their hasty departure from the region.
- Chateau d'Yquem experts restored the 130-year-old wines from 1892 and 1896, preserved by high sugar content and the chapel's cool, humid conditions that maintained consistent temperature and moisture levels.
- Rather than auctioning the collection, Becov Castle plans to exhibit the bottles, with collections manager Katerina Nyvltova launching a fundraising campaign to enable further analysis and reconditioning of the remaining bottles.
- The unveiling follows the recent discovery of a 20,000-bottle trove in Tbilisi, Georgia, which includes rarities linked to historical figures Napoleon Bonaparte and Joseph Stalin, highlighting renewed interest in rediscovered wine archives.
18 Articles
18 Articles
A legendary wine collection from the late 19th century, which remained hidden for decades under the floor of a chapel in Bečov Castle in the Czech Republic, has been painstakingly restored and finally exposed to the public. The 133 bottles, mostly dated between 1892 and 1899, were discovered in 1985 in an underground hiding place where the former owners of the castle buried them at the end of the Second World War due to the proximity of the adva…
The castle and chateau in Bečov nad Teplou in the Karlovy Vary region presented part of a collection of rare wines from the late 19th century. The wines were found in the local chapel in 1985 together with the reliquary of St. Maurus. The value of 136 bottles of wine, champagne and cognac has been newly estimated at 100 million crowns. The previous estimate was based on roughly a third of this amount. In the future, the chateau wants to display …
Century-old stash of French wine back in the spotlight following restoration
(CBS, KYMA) - A century-old stash of French wine is back in the spotlight after a meticulous restoration. 133 bottles of Chateau D'Yquem are on display in the Czech Republic. They were hidden beneath the chapel of a castle at the end of World War II and weren't discovered until 1985 when an American businessman helped lead authorities to the stockpile. Experts say the cool, humid conditions underground helped preserve everything from the corks t…
A collection of wines from the end of the 19th century, which remained hidden for years under the floor of a chapel in Beckov Castle, Czech Republic, has been painstakingly restored by the prestigious estate...
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