The bottles of precious Château d’Yquem — one of the world’s most expensive, refined, and highly prized sweet white wines — are part of a unique collection of 136 bottles discovered in the 1980s at Bečov Castle in western Czechia, and are set to be placed on public display in the near future.

The wine collection once belonged to the noble Beaufort-Spontin family. At the end of the war, the aristocrats were forced to flee what was then Czechoslovakia after being suspected of collaborating with the Nazi occupation regime.

The wine spent decades hidden beneath the floor of the castle chapel. Ironically, the hidden treasure lay alongside one of Christianity’s greatest relics — the Reliquary of St. Maurus, believed to contain the remains of John the Baptist. It was only decades later that the cache was uncovered by the secret police of communist Czechoslovakia.

While the religious relic was immediately transported to Prague for extensive restoration and later returned to Bečov in 2002 for permanent exhibition, the wine collection was initially left behind and forgotten.

According to Reuters, in 1984 the former owners of the castle asked American businessman Danny Douglas to secretly recover the hidden wine. However, during the permit process, Czechoslovak security services discovered the plan, which ultimately led to the full discovery of the hidden collection. About ten years ago, the wine was rediscovered again, and a complex restoration process began.

Château d’Yquem, located in the Sauternes region of Bordeaux, took responsibility for preserving its historic legacy, personally restoring eight bottles dating from 1892 and 1896.

“We tasted a very small amount of liquid gold to ensure that, in terms of aroma profile, palate balance, and overall impression, the wine fully corresponded to a Château d’Yquem of such age,” said cellar master Toni El Khawand during the presentation in Bečov.

Laboratory tests confirmed the authenticity of the wine. Experts then replaced deteriorated corks and fitted the original bottles with protective capsules. Due to long-term exposure to oxygen, the wine had to be partially rebottled, meaning that only five of the original eight bottles were returned to Bečov in full form.

Speaking to the press, El Khawand described tasting the wine — preserved thanks to its exceptionally high sugar content — as a truly magical experience.

“When we open such a bottle, we are literally opening a time capsule. We remove a cork that has isolated the liquid from the outside world for decades and, in a sense, from the passage of time itself,” he said.

“The wine impressed us with its remarkable freshness on the palate,” he added. “It is surprisingly alive, with a vivid, almost crisp acidity.”

Praising its extraordinary complexity, El Khawand highlighted notes of cedar, dried fruit, saffron, cinnamon, and nutmeg, intertwined with more mature tones typical of aged Château d’Yquem such as chocolate, coffee, mocha, and hints of oud.

For context, even relatively recent vintages of Château d’Yquem sell for hundreds of dollars per bottle. The Czech National Heritage Institute has estimated the entire collection at around $5 million if ever sold at auction.

However, El Khawand declined to assign it a financial value.

“First and foremost, it has moral and historical value. It is memory — liquid memory, yes — but it is the heritage of all those who came before us and the work they accomplished,” he said.

The treasure is not expected to go to auction. Instead, Bečov Castle is preparing a major exhibition featuring the entire collection of wine and cognac bottles, including an 1899 Pedro Ximénez sherry and an 1892 port.