1903 NZ claret up for auction

Let's hope, for the sake of the prospective buyer, that 1903 was a great year for New Zealand claret.

The country's oldest bottle of wine is going up for sale at a charity wine auction on July 7. Bob Campbell, Master of Wines, said he expects “the bottle of Lansdowne 1903 claret to shatter all previous records."

The wine was made by William and Hermanze Beetham, owners of one of the first commercial vineyards in New Zealand.

“This bottle represents a rare slice of not only Wairarapa but New Zealand Wine History. Produced before prohibition, it’s remarkable that it has survived so long and still remains in the original Beetham family cellar” said Larry McKenna, charity wine auction chairman for Te Omanga Hospice.

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