Thomas Jefferson’s Wine Up for Sale

A bottle of 198-year-old French wine inscribed with the initials of Thomas Jefferson is up for auction, the Times of London reported Monday.

Jefferson, third president of the United States, was a connoisseur of wine and wrote a report on the Bordeaux vineyards while in France in the 1780s. When he returned home, he ordered 10 cases for himself and 30 cases for George Washington.

The bottles were engraved with Jefferson’s and Washington’s initials, and the one for auction at Christie’s on Dec. 6 reads “1787 Lafitte Th. J,”--meaning it came from the Chateau Lafitte vineyard, the newspaper said.