How much would you invest in a single bottle of wine? An exceptional vintage from a highly regarded vineyard may cost as much as a luxury sports car or property. We take a look at 10 of the most expensive wines ever produced.
1. Most expensive standard-sized bottle.
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Chateau Lafite 1787 (Bordeaux) Bought for the Forbes Collection, this bottle of Lafite bears Thomas Jefferson’s initials etched into the glass, a practice not that unusual in the 18th century when large purchases were made directly from the Chateau. Provenance notes: this bottle has been subject to much speculation regarding its authenticity – indeed it the collection it came from sparked ongoing legal action in the US. A book entitled “The Billionaire’s Vinegar” by Benjamin Wallace details the story further. |
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2. Most expensive large-format bottle
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Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1945 (Bordeaux) A Jeroboam (5 litres in the US) of Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1945 – considered one of the great vintages of the 20th century – sold to an anonymous buyer at Christie’s London in 1997 for $114,614. |
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3. Most expensive fortified wine
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Massandra Sherry 1775 A 1775 Sherry from the Massandra collection, sold at Sotheby’s London in 2001 for $43,500. Situated 4 kilometers from Yalta in the Crimea, the Massandra winery was considered the finest in Czarist Russia. Its cellar contains over a million bottles of both Russian, some bearing the Imperial seal, and Western European wines, the oldest of which was this Sherry. |
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4. Most expensive lot of wine ever sold at auction
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Chateau Mouton-Rothschild 1982 (Bordeaux) 50 cases (600 bottles), of Chateau Mouton-Rothschild 1982, by Christie’s/Zachy’s New York in 1997 for $420,000. |
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5. Most expensive white wine
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Chateau d’Yquem 1787 (Bordeaux) A bottle of 1787 Chateau d’Yquem sold at Christie’s London in 1986 for $56,588. This bottle also bears Thomas Jefferson’s initials. Provenance notes: this has now been superceded by a bottle of Yquem from the same vintage purchased by an American buyer in 2006 for $90,000. |
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6. Most expensive dry white wine
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Montrachet, DRC 1978 (Burgundy) 7 bottles of Le Montrachet, DRC 1978 sold at Sotheby’s New York in 2001 for $167,500 or $23,929 per bottle. |
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7. Most expensive single bottle of red burgundy
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Romanée-Conti, DRC 1990 (Burgundy) 6 Magnums of Romanée-Conti, DRC 1990 at Zachy’s New York in 2002 for $69,600, or $5,800 per regular bottle. |
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8. Most expensive lot of red burgundy
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Romanée-Conti, DRC 1985 (Burgundy) Set of 7 Methuselahs (6 litres or 8 bottles) of Romanée-Conti, DRC 1985 sold at Sotheby’s London in 1996 for $224,900. |
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9. Most expensive American red wine
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Screaming Eagle 1994 (California) 3 bottles of Screaming Eagle 1994 sold at Christie’s Los Angeles in 2000 for $11,500 or $3,833 per bottle. |
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10. Most expensive bottle of wine ever broken
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Chateau Margaux 1787 (Bordeaux) insured for $225,000. Provenance notes: the most expensive wine never to be sold is the 1787 Chateau Margaux initialled by Thomas Jefferson. In 1989 an astronomical price of $500,000 was placed on it by its owner, New York wine merchant William Sokolin who took it to a Margaux dinner at the Four Seasons hotel. Many say that in asking such a huge sum he was just looking to generate publicity (a similarly-initialled Lafite sold for “only” $160,000 four years earlier). Although he didn’t sell the wine, he certainly got a lot of publicity; at the end of the dinner a waiter carrying a coffee tray bumped the bottle, breaking it. Sokolin, however, had the last laugh: he’d managed to get the wine insured – for $225,000. This makes it the world’s most expensive broken bottle of wine. |
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