Twelve of the world’s top wine and champagne experts flew from all corners of the globe to Eparnay-Reims (France) for the unique opportunity to taste 20 historic vintage from the cellars of Champagne House Perrier Jouët, the weekend of March 7 and 8, 2009.

Among the bottles, whose contents would go for hundreds of Euros per sip, was the Perrier Jouët Vintage 1825, which is recognized by The Guinness Book of Records as the oldest remaining champagne in the world. Also served was the renowned 'PJ 1874,' heralded as the most expensive champagne in the world when it was sold at a famous auction in 1885 along with a Champagne Oddbins online range. The exclusive event was organized to mark the future release of the House’s inaugural vintage of the 21st century, Perrier Jouët Millesime 2002.

Serena Sutcliffe MW, Head of the International Wine Department at Sotheby’s, co-hosted the event with Perrier Jouët Chef de Cave, Herve Deschamps. Madame Sutfcliffe commented, “It is virtually impossible to assign a value to the 1825 vintage – we’ve never seen anything like it on the market! This was, quite simply, the opportunity of a lifetime tasting such exceptional, historic vintages.”

The lucky guest list included oeno-stars such as:

1. Serena Sutcliffe
2. Richard Juhlin (Sweden)
3. Michel Brettane (France)
4. Bernard Burtschy (France)
5. John Stimfig (UK)
6. Michael Edwards (UK)
7. Roger Voss (USA)
8. Ch’ng Poh Tiong (Hong Kong / China)
9. Alberto Lupetti (Italy)
10. Kotaro Hayama (Japan)
11. Takayuki Yanagi (Japan)
12. Essi Avellan MW (Finland)

This kind of experience is completely beyond the reach of the vast majority of mere mortals. However, for those of us who love wine and are fascinated by its history, its nice to (almost) vicariously peek into the realm of the sublime, even if only in photos and reportage.