Top 10 Most Expensive Wines From Around the Globe
People have been making wines for more than six millennia. That’s 6,000 years of fascination with one single drink. The first evidence of wine from grapes has been found in Armenia, some 4100 years Before Christ.
And until the present day, people are obsessed with wines. They are so obsessed that they are willing to spend outrageous amounts of money for a taste of the best ones in the world.
Here we have a list of the top 10 most expensive wines worldwide. Like it or not, their price is a reflection of what people are willing to pay for them, and some in this list may be even higher at current market rate.
#10 Chateau D’Yquem 1811 ($117K)
The 1811 harvest at the Chateau D’Yquem was so exceptional that it had led to something special. That special was the best wine ever made. That’s not an understatement as it is considered as such by the most renowned sommeliers across the world. Then there is the $117,000 price tag that is the highest on record for a bottle of white wine.
#9 1945 Romanee Conti ($123K)
The celebrated wines of Romanee Conti were struck by Phylloxera just one year after the world war two ended. They couldn’t produce any new wine for almost six years, until 1952. The 1945 Romanee Conti is one single bottle from the period before the Phylloxera took its tool. In 2007, it was sold at an auction where it fetched $123,900.
#8 Chateau Lafite 1787 ($156K)
The bottle remained hidden for almost two centuries in a cellar in Paris. Once discovered in 1985, the bottle was auctioned, and it reached an incredible $156K. The bottle was bought by the multi-millionaire Malcome Forbes who proudly displayed it under halogen lights. Unfortunately for him, the strong lights dried out the bottle’s cork that dropped into the bottle. As a result, the value of the bottle was reduced to almost nothing.
#7 Penfolds’ Ampoule ($168K)
One bottle of Penfolds’ 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon sells for an incredible $168K, while just one taste goes for a staggering $850. Penfolds is Australia’s most famous winery that sells its wines in ampoules. There is no cork, and to open the ampoule, you need to break its end.
#6 1787 Chateau Margaux ($225K)
Thomas Jefferson originally bought the bottle. Its last owner was Willam Sollokin, who bought it for $225K and was about to open the bottle and enjoy it with his friends. However, a waiter at the Four Seasons accidentally tripped and broke the bottle – a tragic end to an incredible bottle.
#5 1869 Chateau Lafite ($230K)
This was not one, but three bottles of Chateau Lafite that were auctioned in Hong Kong. The auctioneers vastly undervalued the wine and started the bidding at just $8000 per bottle. They were shocked when the bottle reached astronomical $230K. In their defense, they didn’t know how rare it was.
#4 Heidsieck 1907 ($275K)
The wine was scavaged from a shipwreck lying at the sea’s bottom for 80 years. The wine was intended for Tsar Nicholas, the last Tsar of Russia. But it never reached Russia as the boat that carried the precious load was hit by a torpedo from a German submarine.
#3 Cheval Blanc 1947 ($304K)
Chateau Cheval is considered as one of the most renowned winemakers worldwide. The 1947 harvest was very specific because of the bad weather that year. Fortunately, that resulted in one of the unique Bordeaux wine ever. The wine had many technical flaws, but the taste of the wine was truly exceptional. One that is impossible to replicate.
#2 1945 Jeroboam ($310K)
This one comes from the Chateau Mouton-Rothschild vineyards. The V label indicates the victory over Germany in World War 2. The 1945 Jeroboam comes in classic 750 ml bottles, and it features notes of sweet dried cherries, dry soil, dry green moss, and vanilla.
#1 Cabernet Sauvignon – Screaming Eagle 92’ ($500K)
Neither France, Italy, nor even Spain holds the record for the most expensive wine in the world, but the United States of America. To be more precise, Oakville California. Spectacular is the most common superlative used to describe the wine. At least by those that were fortunate enough to taste it. A bottle of the Screaming Eagle fetched half a million dollars at a charity auction in 2000.
