Anantara Kihavah Maldives Villas - voted as the world's best
underwater wine cellar and restaurant - has launched a new underwater
aged wine tasting experience.
The tasting takes place six metres below the Indian Ocean's surface
in SEA restaurant, surrounded by near 360-degree views of the local
marine life.
As befits a tasting in such unique surroundings, wine lovers will get
to sample aged Dom Perignon champagne that has been submerged in open
water for 365 days.
In 2020, Anantara Kihavah's wine experts started an innovative
experiment of submerging bottles of Dom Perignon 2008 vintage champagne
below the ocean's surface for 365 days.
After the sunken bottles were retrieved, the champagnes noticeably
gained distinct flavour notes such as seaweed, minerals, and salinity in
its taste, which the resort’s sommeliers say “complements the classic
components of Dom Perignon's citrus, brioche, and nutty characters”.
Now every year, a limited number of premium bottles are submerged underwater at Kihavah's house reef.
During the exclusive wine tasting oenophile's will sample
underwater-aged Dom Perignon and compare its characteristics with a
cellar-aged Dom Perignon champagne.
The private underwater-aged wine tastings cost US$2,455++ for two people.