The story of the champagne on the wreck we discovered last July, south of Sweden’s Öland, which electrified the media around the world, has taken an interesting turn.
Throughout the winter, we worked hard to uncover more information about the wreck, its cargo, its history, and most importantly, to obtain permission for an official investigation. Thanks to the support of Johan Rönnby and the Maritime Archaeological Research Institute (MARIS), as well as our cooperation with Länsstyrelsen Blekinge—specifically Magnus Petersson—we successfully received the necessary authorization.
Our expedition toward Sweden began in late April. To our delight, the wreck remained in perfect condition over the winter. Since autumn of last year, it has been under special protection, and we must admit—it’s quite effective. Our presence at the site was noticed within minutes, and we were swiftly verified to ensure it was indeed us. From what we understand, violating this protection order in Sweden carries serious consequences.
The timing of our research was no coincidence—at the end of April and beginning of May, the Baltic Sea is brutally cold, but the water is incredibly clear. This allowed us to carry out another round of documentation, photography, and photogrammetry, and—most importantly, in accordance with our permit—to recover a few bottles of Seltzer water and Louis Roederer champagne.
During the entire expedition, Swedish archaeologists were present on board. Notably, Seltzer and Louis Roederer are now our sponsors. Not only are they supporting our research financially, but most importantly, they’ve committed to conducting professional chemical analyses of the bottle contents. Additionally, the champagne producer sent their expert Peter Liem on the trip—an individual who not only has immense knowledge of champagne but is also a GUE technical diver. You can imagine how valuable that combination was for our work. Peter gave us precise advice on which bottles to recover.
In the end, we successfully and safely retrieved several bottles of champagne and mineral water. As per our agreement, a few bottles of champagne were sent to Reims, to the headquarters of Louis Roederer in France. There, they were quickly analyzed, and we now know—with high probability—that this is champagne produced around 1850 for the Imperial Russian Court, specifically for Tsar Alexander II.
It contains 110 grams of sugar per liter and 12% alcohol—and most importantly, it's still drinkable. Last week, we visited the company’s headquarters and officially handed over three bottles for testing. The French team welcomed us with great enthusiasm—it was clear this was a momentous occasion for them too. As @Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, the current head of the company, said about our bottles:“Welcome Home.” At the end of the full-day visit and celebratory dinner, we all agreed—this feels like the beginning of a beautiful adventure, not the end.
BTW: Louis Roederer will be celebrating its 250th anniversary next year, and it looks like our champagne will be the highlight of the celebrations.
As for us…
We’re currently in contact with British television, and there’s a strong chance a documentary series about our discovery will be produced. This would allow us to share the full story in detail—and more importantly, give us more time to continue our research on the wreck, uncover its full history, and learn what really happened in the Baltic Sea at the end of the 19th century.
To be continued...
Best regards from the Team:
Tomasz Stachura
Pawel Truszynski
Kamil Macidłowski
Maciej Honc
Maciej Marcinkowski
Michal Iwicki
Paweł Wilk
Bartłomiej Pitala
Marek Cacaj
Peter Liem
Johan Rönnby
Magnus Petersson
#MaritimeArchaeologicalResearchInstitute(MARIS)
#LänsstyrelsenBlekinge
#Selters
#LouisRoederer
#Baltictech
#Espaceboat
