Nina Droff, edited by Loane Nader // photo credit: BLANCHOT Philippe / hemis.fr / hemis.fr / Hemis via AFP 12:07pm, June 02, 2023

The castle of Vaux-le-Vicomte organizes an exceptional treasure hunt called "the golden elixir". Participants who try their hand will be able to try to get their hands on 3,500 Grands Crus of Burgundy with an estimated value of more than 100,000 euros. Europe 1 went to meet the organizers of this unusual event.

If you are looking to redo your cellar, this treasure hunt is for you. The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte organizes an event to allow participants to get their hands on no less than 3,500 great wines of Burgundy, of considerable value. Europe 1 went to meet the organizers to testify to this.

"This is the testament of the Count of Saint-Germain," says Etienne Picand, co-author of Enigmes of the Golden Elixir. On a large burnished sheet, numbers, letters and mysterious illustrations. This parchment, which costs 29 euros, is the starting point of the treasure hunt. The latter consists of "six enigmas around wine and French heritage. And these six puzzles, once solved, give the extremely precise location of a chest that is buried somewhere in France." An authentic treasure hunt that takes place in real conditions, and "as soon as someone digs up this chest, this person brings back a wine cellar that is worth 100,000 euros.

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"Very prestigious bottles, like the wines of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette"

The game could last between six months and five years and some players are already very invested in hunting, as Etienne Picand has noted. "We have already had several players who have gone to dig holes, for the moment without success to our knowledge. There is no need for acute knowledge about wine, it is a confirmed level hunt, but anyone can participate," he adds.

While waiting for the winner, the bottles will wait, safely, in a 17th century cellar, near Paris in the heart of the castle of Vaux-le-Vicomte. "There are obviously very prestigious bottles, such as the wines of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, Château Labastide Orliac," says the author of the treasure hunt about the bottles, which will be officially installed in the cellar from June 22.