This bottle of extremely rare pre-phylloxera cognac lay in the cool damp cellars of the Parisian restaurant La Tour d’Argent for over 100 years until finally being removed and sold by Christies London in 2012. As one would expect many of the bottles removed were bin-soiled, dirty and in many cases with only the remains of labels. However, they have proved to become some of the finest ancient liqueurs ever tasted by mankind. The level is clearly visible at the join of the neck and shoulder. Original metallic capsule remains intact, and the original label whilst damaged clearly indicates “Café Anglais”.Café Anglais: Opened in 1802, the restaurant was named in honour of the Treaty of Amiens, a peace accord signed between Britain and France.
In the beginning, its clientele were coachmen and domestic servants but later became frequented by actors and patrons of the nearby Opera House. In 1822, the new proprietor, Paul Chevreuil, turned it into a fashionable restaurant and it was after the arrival of chef Adolphe Dugléré that the Café Anglais achieved its highest gastronomic reputation. It was then frequented by the wealthy and the aristocracy of Paris. He composed the menu called the “Three Emperors Dinner” in honor of Tsar Alexander II, Kaiser Wilhelm I and Otto von Bismarck for the Exposition Universelle in 1867 in Paris.
