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This weekend, 12 of the world’s top wine and champagne experts flew from all corners of the globe to the boutique Champagne House Perrier-Jouet for the chance to taste 20 historic vintages from the House’s own cellars, including the oldest champagne in the world: Perrier-Jouet Vintage 1825.

Each sip would have been worth hundreds of Pounds/Euros/Dollars at auction, according to the Head of the International Wine Department at Sotheby’s, Serena Sutcliffe MW, who co-hosted the tasting with Perrier-Jouet Chef de Cave, Herve Deschamps. Sutcliffe comments, “It is virtually impossible to assign a value to the 1825 vintage — we’ve never seen anything like it on the market! This was, quite simply, the opportunity of a lifetime tasting such exceptional, historic vintages.”

The private event was organised to mark the release of the House’s inaugural vintage of the 21st Century, Perrier-Jouet Millesime 2002. The tasting also included the renowned “PJ 1874″ — heralded as the most expensive champagne in the world when it was sold at a world famous auction in 1885.

Guests included world-renowned champagne expert: Richard Juhlin from Sweden; France’s most famous wine critic: Michel Bettane; Roger Voss from one of the USA’s top wine magazines The Wine Enthusiast; together with wine experts from the UK, China, Japan, Italy and Finland.