200-YEAR-OLD WINE

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 272, 7 February 1928, Page 13

200-YEAR-OLD WINE

VALUABLE FLAGONS OF TOKAY LAID DOWN IN 1673 The cellar of famous Tokay wines, of the Royal Court of Saxony, said to be worth £25,000 and to include vintages more than 200 years old, was recently sold in London. Mr C H*. Rosenthal, who was in London acting on behalf of thm administrator of the Royal cellars, described the cellar to a “Sunday Times” reP °“This cellar was founded by Kurfurst August the Strong, King of Poland, in 1673. "King August was literally strong. He prided himself on his physical power, and often demonstrated to hla subjects his enormous strength Dy breaking iron horseshoes with his hands with the ease of snapping a 1--incli stick. _ . "When August the Strong died, lus. son August the Third, who succeeded him as 'King of Poland, continued to add to the collection of wines, and with subsequent additions the cellar became one of the most famous in Europe. . "Though originally founded in Austria, the cellai' was later removed to the Royal Palace of the Saxons at Dresden, where it was up to the time of its sale. It was not the intention of the administrator to put the cellar into tlie open market, but it was hoped to dispose of it by private treaty as a whole, or, failing that, in small lots. “The cellar contained about 8,000 bottles, comprising dry, sweet and bitter Tokays, which have improved by age and to-day are beautifully rich m flower and body. “Not only is the wine good, but an enhanced value is given to the collection by the antiquity of the bottles, even when empty. Antiquaries readily give 15s to £1 for them. These bottles are of the old-fashioned flagon order, are of hand-blown glass, and each bears the stamp of the maker and also the Saxon arms surmounted by A.R. ill. (August Regius III.)’ ” The genuineness of the collection which was sold is guaranteed by a certificate signed by Pee. Ernst Heinrich. Several of the lots, the most famous being the “Wojewode von Krankau,” were laid down in 1700.