The Story Behind a 1914 Bottle of Champagne — And How It Tastes a Century Later

It's not every day you drink wine that has aged over a decade, and it seems unthinkable that anyone has come across a properly preserved, drinkable century-old Champagne. However, Moët winemaker Elise Losfelt has. She told us it's like "tasting history."

Elise had the opportunity to try a 1914 bottle of Champagne, which was grown, harvested, and aged during World War I in the middle of a war zone. Elise explains that people (even children!) risked their lives to create this vintage and snuck through the vineyard at night to pick the grapes, always fearing the possibility of being shot by German troops. Brave winemakers hid bottles upon bottles of Champagne within the walls of the underground labyrinth-like crayères or cool, limestone caverns where wine is aged, so soldiers would not steal or destroy them.

As a result of their efforts, Champagne houses like Moët still have a vast collection of bottles from nearly every vintage since the winery has been in existence, with 1878 being the oldest bottle. Moët winemakers have access to these rare vintages for research, which is why Elise was able to take a sip of the 1914 vintage. Though the bubbles were long gone, the Champagne had an enticing, woody, and earthy aroma. The wine tasted of mushrooms, was slightly briny like oysters, and had a tart flavor like dried grapefruit peel.