Last month, divers off the coast of southern Sweden came across a wreck about 58 meters below the surface of the Baltic Sea. It was not a new discovery. The sunken schooner, which dates back to the mid-19th century, was first found in 2016 and has been registered with the Swedish National Monuments Agency since then. But no one knew that its hull was hiding a valuable cargo: a liquid treasure that could be worth over $4 million.

The divers uncovered crate after crate of uncorked champagne bottles dating back to the 1850s – not an everyday find, even given the estimated 100,000 shipwrecks that lie scattered across the Baltic Sea floor. In fact, the leader of the lucky diving team, Tomasz Stachura, told the BBC that in his 40 years in the profession he had never seen anything remotely like it.

At first glance, the liquid appears to be fantastically well preserved; thanks to the high-quality sealing, it has been spared from oxidation. But that’s not something we can say for sure at this point, because the Swedish government has just made it clear that no one is allowed to recover the bubbling loot… unless they can get the proper permission. And officials have not yet clarified exactly how – or when – that permission will be granted.

What we Do What we know for sure is that this shipwrecked champagne will fetch a fortune when it resurfaces. And we know this because there is a precedent in the recent past. In 2010, another shipwreck full of French sparkling wine was found on the bottom of the Baltic Sea: 168 bottles of nearly 200-year-old juice, including sealed bottles from legendary producers still in operation today, like Veuve Clicquot.

After being raised to the surface, some of these bottles were opened and tasted by a select team of sensory experts (in the name of science). What they tasted exceeded even the wildest expectations. When a single bottle from the same rescued find was auctioned a year later, it was not too surprising that it fetched a record sum of 30,000 euros.

It is not complete It’s unreasonable to assume a similar fate for this latest Baltic discovery. If so, the 2011 figure of €30,000 is equivalent to about $45,875 per bottle today (adjusted for inflation). Stachura reports seeing about 100 sealed bottles during his dive, potentially representing $4.58 million worth of wine. But this is all idle speculation unless the Swedish government grants access to the stockpile. They are under no pressure to do so any time soon. And this wine has been aging quietly for over 172 years, so what difference does it make to wait another minute or two?