Restaurant finds stash of Latour under secret trapdoor

The owners of a restaurant in Berkshire have discovered a secret cellar stocked with £20,000 worth of vintage wines, including Château Latour, Château Rebouquet la Roquette and a Château de Montrabech, after stumbling across a hidden trapdoor.

The discovery was made by builders working at the new Giggling Squid restaurant in Windsor, Berkshire, uncovering a trap door and hidden staircase to a cellar, which was filled with 2ft of water, as reported by The Times.

Within the watery cellar, they found cases of unopened wine bottles and stock-taking notes dating from 1980. Among the selection of wines was a Château Rebouquet la Roquette from 1970, a Château de Montrabech from 1976, as well as several bottles of Château Latour.

Before the restaurant was taken over by the the Giggling Squid last year, a rapidly expanding chain of Thai restaurants, it was a Bella Italia restaurant a Pizzaland and a Zizzi’s, who all missed out on making the discovery.

Prior to this it was owned by an Italian restaurateur, Peppino Battocchi, who named it Don Peppino’s and owned the restaurant until the early 1980s.

Stock taking notes found in the cellar date from 1980 and the wines are of the late ’70s vintage, which would suggest that the collection of wines belonged to Mr Battocchi.

Battocchi closed Don Peppino’s in the 1980s to concentrate on La Taverna, another of his restaurants in Windsor, which closed in 2014 after 52 years in business, according to reports in the Windsor and Eton Express.

Battocchi, who would now be aged 84, is yet to come forward to shed any light on the discovery of wines, but is known to have retired in 2014.

Speaking to The Times Andy Laurillard, co-founder of the Giggling Squid, said: “We have been planning on increasing the size of the site by extending it at the back, but this astonishing discovery might now present the perfect solution.

“The builders uncovered a trapdoor when working on the site and were very surprised by what they found inside. Our reaction was surprise. The builders were on the phone immediately to tell me they had discovered a full height cellar with 2ft of gushing water.

“It was not what we were expecting. Our wine expert thinks the contents of the cellar are worth around £20,000 – if the contents aren’t spoiled that is. He is still going through the stock deciphering the old, faded and damp labels.

“I’m not sure how long the wine has been there for but the place clearly hasn’t been touched in years – the team uncovered World War Two style lanterns.”

Giggling Squid was founded 15 years ago in the basement of a fisherman’s cottage, now the Brighton restaurant, and now has 20 branches.