Secret wine hidden by suspected Nazi sympathisers unveiled at Czech castle
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A collection of 133 late 19th-century wine bottles, mostly from 1892-1899, discovered in 1985 beneath a chapel floor at Becov castle in the Czech Republic, has been restored by Château d’Yquem.
The wine was hidden by the Beaufort-Spontin family, former inhabitants of Becov castle, at the end of the Second World War before they fled to Austria. The family was labelled Nazi sympathisers.
Toni El Khawand, Cellar Master at Château d’Yquem, said that “the cache had provided perfect conditions for keeping the wine”.
The discovery occurred after an American businessman, acting on behalf of the Beaufort-Spontin family, experienced a back-and-forth with authorities over retrieving the hidden treasure, leading police to the wine.
The restored wine, with some bottles recorked by Château d’Yquem while preserving original dust, will be on public display at Becov castle.
