Staggering Sums for Legendary Names
People invest in expensive wine for various reasons -- some gustatory, others strictly financial. You can't drink a Picasso. It is, however, very possible to ingest a $135,000 1947 Cheval Blanc over the course of a lazy afternoon.
We consulted auction houses, wine experts, and seasoned collectors to assemble a list of the ten most expensive bottles of wine ever sold. The figures are staggering, but every bottle has a different story.
The wine auction market has not only recovered from the burst bubble of 2000, but according to Peter D. Meltzer, who watches the auction market for The Wine Spectator, it's on a roll.
"You can make an analogy to what's going on with impressionists and modern art," he says. "For the last two years, it's been a seller's market--in fact it's at the highest point ever."
He attributes success partly to the incredible property on the market, which he qualifies as wines that are rare, in good to perfect condition with pristine provenance, and directly from a celebrated collector or chateau. Christie's recently auctioned off a case of 1945 Château Mouton-Rothschild for roughly $29,000 per 750 ml. bottle.
See our slideshow of the 10 most expensive bottles of wine ever sold.
Meltzer also cites new blood as a reason for why the market is on fire. "There's a whole new body of high net worth operators who see owning the wine as chic; drinking it is a way to impress. Some do buy for investment, hoping to flip down the road for considerable prices."
Which, of course, can be done. Consider the lucky souls who bought a bottle of 1982 Château Lafite or Mouton-Rothschild: At vintage they sold for about $400, and now they fetch up to $10,000.
The bottles that bring in the truly big bucks are well-known names. After all, there's a reason oenophiles call these wines "the blue chips." The lion's share come from the top growths of Bordeaux: Lafite, Margaux, Mouton-Rothschild, Latour, Haut Brion, Petrus, Cheval Blanc and the sweet wine, d'Yquem.
Other top sellers on our list belong to iconic wineries whose storied names no longer exist; the 1941 Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignon fits into this niche. A case of these sold at an auction in Los Angeles for roughly $25,000 a bottle.
Francis Ford Coppola bought two bottles of it in 2004. Coppola's Rubicon Estate Winery is located on a portion of the property first acquired in 1879 by Finnish Sea Captain Gustave Niebaum, founder of the Inglenook Winery.
Another wine brimming with history--at least for those Down Under--is the 1951 Penfolds Grange ($40,000). That was a priceless first vintage made by the godfather of Australian wine, Max Schubert.
Read on to learn the stories behind the 10 most expensive bottles of wine ever sold. Chin Chin!
See our slideshow of the 10 most expensive bottles of wine ever sold.