Bottles of 1774 wine for sale at French auction

Reuters
Two bottles, of three vintage bottles of vin jaune "yellow wine" from 1774, are presented in a cellar in Arbois, France, May 22, 2018 before the three bottles are put up for auction in Lons le Saunier on May 26th. REUTERS/Jean-Pierre Amet

PARIS (Reuters) - Wine connoisseurs have the chance to buy a truly vintage tipple on Saturday when three bottles of "yellow wine" dating from 1774 go under the hammer in France.

The bottles of Arbois Vin Jaune, among the oldest wines in the world, are estimated at 15,000 euros - 20,000 euros ($17,000 -$23,000) each, according to auction house Jura Encheres, which will conduct the sale in the eastern town of Lons-le-Saunier.

Auctioneer Philippe Etievant said a group of experts in 1994 tasted a bottle of the 1774 wine and scored it 9.4 out of 10. In 2011, a similar bottle sold for 57,000 euros at auction.

The wine is still made in the Jura region.

(Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; editing by Andrew Roche)