Trinity College has revealed that its wine collection is worth £1.67 million in a recent Freedom of Information request.

The College, which has the largest financial endowment of any Oxbridge college, said their collection comprises more than 25,000 bottles.

The findings mean that Trinity’s wine cellar is worth almost twice as much as the government’s collection, which was valued at £870,000 during the summer.

Trinity’s wine cellar is, however, worth less than the royal wine collection, which is reputedly worth in excess of £2 million.

Paul Simm, Wine Steward for Trinity College, informed Varsity that the College has been storing wine in the cellars for centuries and that currently their oldest bottles date back to 1947.

He added that one of many highlights of the College’s wine collection is a 1978 Hermitage La Chapelle. Each one of these bottles is currently valued at £650.

Bottles from the wine cellar are usually reserved for the Fellows and guests of the College. However, Mr Simm commented, "Students drink the same wine as the Fellows when they are guests of the College at the Matriculation and Graduation Dinners, as do those invited to the Commemoration Feast and the Rice Exchange Dinner."

Speaking to Varsity, Alex Hurst, a third-year Trinity undergraduate said he had tasted the College’s wine on a number of occasions. He said that he was "not surprised" by the high valuation of the wine collection.

"Trinity’s wine stock is legendary and the quality of wine served during Matriculation dinner and College feasts bears weight to that," he said.

Hurst also described a vintage 1963 Port, which he was fortunate enough to taste a couple of years ago during Formal Hall, as "amazing".

Despite the high value of the wine collection, Varsity is informed that Trinity does not purchase wine for investment purposes. All wine is acquired for College entertainment events.

Other large wine cellars include that of Churchill College. Churchill holds 25,652 bottles of wine in its cellar alongside 2,500 fortified wines and spirits.

Jesus College holds a collection of 41 bottles of Château Latour 1982, bought for around £40 each. Each of these bottles is now worth £1,750.