A unique product of wine that can
surprise sophisticated guests or a good opportunity for long-term investment?
For each buyer of such wine there may be his own reason for the purchase. Two
things remain unchanged – bottles of incredibly expensive wine and people who
are ready to buy it, even though the price of some exceeds $200,000 per bottle.
There is something about wine that makes it an immensely royal experience every
time you take a sip. The vines of southern Europe are perceived as more than
cultural heritage today. It’s a well-known fact that a good wine become better
with time. It acquires a characteristic rich taste, which is highly appreciated
by true aficionados of expensive beverages. However, old and expensive wine is
a privilege not only for gourmets.
1. Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon 1992 ($500,000): For the most
expensive bottle of wine Trust the Americans to get the best of the deals to
have been sold till date was made not in Italy or France, but urm, in America –
Oakville, California to be precise. Cheers to the rarity and the small
quantities of wine produced from here, the wine has achieved cult status. A
bottle of Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon 1992, described as ‘spectacular’,
managed to fetch the unbelievable price of $500,000 for a charity auction in
2000. Unfiltered and unfined while bottling, this wine is aged in 60% new oak
and is opaque purple in color.
2. Jeroboam of Chateau Mouton-Rothschild 1945 ($310,700: Coming
from the vineyards of Nathaniel Rothschild who bought the estate in 1853, today
these wines are among the most valued in the world. The ‘V’ in the 1945 label
indicates the victory of the Allied forces in the Second World War, and this is
considered one of the best vintages of the last century. While a standard 750
ml bottle comes at $310,700, a glass of this would cost around, well, $8,631.
It gives mint, dry green moss, vanilla and dry pine needles on the nose and dry
soil, raspberry and sweet dried cherries on the palate.
3. 1947 Cheval Blanc ($304,375): Sold in an auction at Christie’s
to an anonymous buyer for $304,375, the 1947 Chateau Cheval Blanc is considered
by many to be the best Bordeaux ever made. Chateau Cheval Blanc is one of the
most prestigious winemakers in the world and has been the recipient of the
super-exclusive Premier Grand Cru Classe (A) rank in the Classification of
Saint-Emilion wine in 2012. Yet, it has a very funny incident behind its
excellent reputation. The year of its birth was characterized by bad weather
because of which it had to be produced under very primitive conditions with
many technical flaws, giving it a taste that could never be replicated.
4. Shipwrecked 1907 Heidsieck ($275,000) It seems almost an
impossible price for a wine people were not sure was even drinkable. But a
bottle costing $275,000 each is what you get when the wine was intended
originally only for the last tsar of Russia, Nicholas II. When the ship
carrying the wine sank in 1916, the wine was thought to be lost, till the
wreckage was discovered in 1997. While 2,000 bottles of this wine were discovered,
what makes these cost so much is the history behind the bottles – the ship had
been torpedoed by a German submarine during the First World War. For 80 years,
this wine had been at freezing temperatures, left undisturbed and away from any
source of light.
5. Chateau Lafite 1869 ($230,000): The auctioneers were expecting a
mere $8000 when it went up for auction in Hong Kong. Envisage their surprise
when the highest bid reached $230,000 for each of the three bottles, by an
anonymous buyer from Asia. What the auctioneers did not know was that the
Chateau Lafite is considered an extremely rare and luxury item in Asia.
6. Chateau Margaux 1787 ($225,000): Having the initials of none
other than Thomas Jefferson, this ancient wine had a very sad end actually.
Jefferson was a famous oenophile, and when he was serving as an ambassador to
France, he often bought bottles from Bordeaux and Burgundy. This particular
bottle was owned by William Solokin who priced it at $225,000, and took it to a
Four Season Hotel for a dinner to celebrate it. And a waiter bumped against the
table by accident, making the bottle shatter to bits. While the insurance
company paid him out, Solokin will probably never be able to get over the loss
of a wine like that which he was unable to taste even a bit.
7. Ampoule from Penfolds ($168,000): A new edition of Penfolds’
2004 Block 42 Cabernet Sauvignon, each bottle costs $168,000, while a glass
comes for $850. Unlike most in the list with histories behind them, these
ampoules, without any cork, screwcap or any other kind of seal, are solely
commercial releases by South Australia’s most famous winery Penfolds. The
tasting of the wine is an experience in itself, as the ampoules, coming in a
container of glass prism and in a wooden cabinet, can be opened only by
breaking off the end. To help with this, a senior winemaking staff will
accompany the buyer to their place.
8. Chateau Lafite 1787 ($156,450): Discovered around 200 years
later in a cellar in Paris, a bottle of this was bought by publishing mogul
Malcolm Forbes in 1985 for $156,450. It had been vouched for as the possession
of the former U. S. President by the biggest wine connoisseurs, and had his
initials etched on it. To display his new acquisition, Forbes had put it in a
glass case and placed it under halogen spotlights. Imagine his horror when the
cork, already placed at a wrong angle, dried out due to the strong lights and
dropped into the bottle, making its value come down.
9. Romanee Conti 1945 ($123,900):
The fabled vines of the Romanee Conti were destroyed by Phylloxera, a pest of
commercial vineyards, just after the end of the Second World War. After the
victory and right before the outbreak in 1946, only 600 bottles were
manufactured before the vineyards could release wine again in 1952. While a
bottle is sold for an average $7,600, the one originally owned by DRC owner
Aubert de Villaine and donated to Christie’s fetched 123,900 in the 2007
auction in Geneva, Switzerland.
10. 1811 Chateau d’Yquem ($117,000): Holding the Guinness World
Record for being the most expensive bottle of white wine ever sold, the bottle
was sold by the Antique Wine Company for $117,000 to Christian Vanneque, who
happens to be a renowned wine connoisseur himself. To commemorate his fifty years
as a wine-taster, he plans to put it on display at SIP Sunset Grill in Bali,
Indonesia, his latest venture. The reason for this hefty price tag of this
bottle is that the harvest of 1811 at the Chateau d’Yquem was so good that many
opined it to be the best white wine ever made.
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