It could be the Champagne find of the century - a case of bubbly more than 200 years old has been discovered on a shipwreck in the Baltic sea.

The bottles of Cliquot (now known as Veuve Cliquot) Champagne are believed to date back to the 1780s and were brought to the surface by diver Christian Erkstrom.

According to Mr Erkstrom, the wine is not only in good condition but perfectly drinkable - as he discovered after popping open a bottle to share with his colleagues.

"It had a very sweet taste, you could taste oak and it had a very strong tobacco smell. And there were very small bubbles," he told Reuters.

If the wine is as old as it is thought to be, it would make the find a full 40 years older than the current oldest known drinkable Champagne, a Perrier-Jouet from 1825.

The Perrier-Jouet was tasted by 12 experts at a ceremony arranged by the Champagne house in March last year.