The toast of Sotherby's: Grand Vintage collection of Moët & Chandon Champagne sold for over £147,000

Six bottles from 1914 were, according to legend, harvested as German forces approached

Champagne collectors had much to celebrate yesterday as an auction of a Grand Vintage collection of Moët & Chandon sold today for £147,333.

The sale, at Sotheby's in London, included many never-before-seen bottles and some which were harvested during the first world war.

Six bottles of Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage Collection 1914, which according to legend were harvested as German forces approached, were sold for a total of £24,910. Meanwhile bottles from the 1921 collection sold for £8,813 per pair.

“This is the first time that any of these Champagnes have left the perfect storage conditions of Moët's cellars, which is absolutely first class provenance,” said Serena Sutcliffe MW, Sotheby's International Head of Wine. “The Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage Collection 1914 is an extraordinary Champagne, both historic and glorious in taste and we are thrilled the price reflected the brilliance of the wine.”

Thirsty collectors keen to get in on the action, tomorrow features a collection of Gruaud Larose - a red wine from Bordeaux - either from 1865 or 1869, which we recovered over twenty years ago from a shipwreck which sank off the coast of the Philippines in 1872.

While in New York, wine lovers can buy a 600-bottle collection of highly-regarded Californian wine, Opus One from the auction house's New York outpost. But they'll need big funds to match their big thirsts, as its asking price is £103,000.