The world's most expensive wines.
Wine dates back to 6000 BC when the oldest winery known to date was discovered. As the production and consumption of wine continued through the ages it was not regarded as a fine beverage. In fact, at one point it was regarded as a beverage enjoyed by the poor. As wine made its way into Europe it took up an image of being an expensive fine beverage enjoyed by the wealthy and elite.

This image of wine continues as wine is perceived as an “upper-class” alcoholic beverage. However, at this day and age you can purchase a fine bottle of Argentinian Malbec, Californian Chardonnay and other exquisite wine varietals for under $30. Even though, most wines are relatively affordable there are still some that are incredibly expensive! We will like to introduce you to the 5 most expensive wines in the world.

Before we feature these rarities of wines let’s talk about why they have such high price tag. Wine making is an intricate process that depends a lot on the grapes, their ripeness and of course weather conditions. Certain years a particular grape harvest comes out unusually good. Because of this wine collectors and connoisseurs seek out specific good years of a certain wine that can age very well.


5. Chateau Margaux 1787 | $225,000

What is the most exquisite bottle of wine you’ve ever tasted worth to you? I’m guessing its a little lower than the price tag above. This bottle of Chateau Margaux from 1787 was valued by an insurance company. It was determined that it belonged to a wine collection of Thomas Jefferson. The story of this wine is that it was brought to a Four Season Hotel and it was dropped by a waiter! This wine was never tasted and the insurance company paid out almost the entire $250,000.


4. Chateau Lafite’s 1869 | $230,000

The original 1869 biding started at $60,000 for each bottle, but it quickly climbed to $230k for a regular sized bottle at Hong Kong’s Sotheby auction in 2010. The collector paid a total of $690,000 for the only three bottles of this rare vintage. This price is the most anyone has paid for a regular sized bottles of fine vino.


3. Shipwrecked 1907 Heidsieck | $275,000

Getting in at the third most expensive bottle is a bottle of Champagne found in a wrecked Swedish ship. When this first bottle was discovered it was prices at $275K USD. Two thousand more of this champagne bottle were discovered, but the history of the Swedish ship destined for Russia that had been hit by a German torpedo in WWI adds more significance to this bottle.


2. 1947 Cheval-Blanc | $304,375 (£192,000)

Introducing the most expensive bottle of Merlot, the 1947 French Cheval Blanc and possibly the most expensive bottle ever sold (outside of charity). It is one of two Merlot bottles classified at a Class A. The reason for this is because the grapes from April and October in 1947 were known to be exceptional. The 69 year old bottle was purchased by a private wine collector at an auction in Geneva for a whopping $304,375.


1. Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon 1992 | $500,000

After reading about the previous most expensive wine bottles you would probably assume that the most expensive bottle would have been aged for centuries and have some kind of historical significance. However, that is not that case with the 1992 bottle of Screaming Eagle (Cabernet Sauvignon). This young bottle (compared to the others) is only 24 years old; the 6 liter bottle was sold for half a million dollars in the year 2000 through a charity auction in Napa Valley!

Please let us know if we are missing any wines on the comments below! Click here for more blog posts.

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