20.9.15 Putin and Berlusconi Criticised for Drinking 1775 Sherry

Last week the ex-prime minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi and Vladimir Putin visited the Crimea which was annexed by Russia a year ago as part of its confrontation with Ukraine. The visit could cost especially Berlusconi dear. On one hand, Ukraine has declared him a persona non grata and prohibited him from visiting the country for three years, and on the other hand the Fiscal General of the toppled Crimea government has begun a grand theft prosecution against him and Putin for drinking a bottle of 240 year old Sherry.

During a visit to the famous Massandra winery which has the largest collection of wines in the world, many belonging to the Tsars, Putin and his guest tried the Sherry which had been brought to Crimea by the Count Michael Vorontsov during the reign of the Russian Empress, Catherine the Great (1762-96). The wine collection was established in 1894 by Prince Lev Golitsyn and now includes some 500,000 bottles. During the visit Berlusconi picked up a bottle of wine from 1891 and asked if they could drink it, but for some reason the director of the winery, Yanina Pavlenko, opened the Sherry. The Fiscal General claims the bottle had a value of €82,000 and is charging Ms Pavlenko with embezzlement, but it is very unlikely the two politicians will stand trial as Russia owns Crimea.

The World's Most Expensive Bottle of Sherry

In 2001, the London auctioneers Sothebys sold the most expensive Sherry ever sold, for $ 43,500. The bottle, bearing the Imperial seal, was dated 1775, and was found in the Massandra cellars in the Crimea. These cellars contained over a million bottles of Russian and European wines, and this Sherry was the oldest of the European wines. Massandra was also a winery, where this Sherry was most likely bottled. The winery was highly regarded in Tsarist times, and later produced its own "Sherry" among other wines.

It was the property of Tsar Nicolas II, and Stalin ordered the Soviet Revolutionaries to preserve it and all its contents, and it has been preserved till now. It formed a part of a collection, along with other bottles of different Sherries which were laid down in these famous cellars, some from 1841. The wine has now been re-valued at $ 52,000, and is considered one of the 10 most expensive bottles of wine in the world. Occasionally, wines from Massandra are to be found at auction.

(Imagen: +Jerez)