10 of the most expensive wines
If you’re looking to treat yourself to something extravagant, purchasing a fine wine could be just the thing. Here are our top 10 to help you in your decision making. But a word of warning, you’ll need at least £4700 to even consider purchasing any from this list.
1. Screaming Eagle Sauvignon Blanc – approximately £4657
First on the list is one of the most expensive Sauvignon Blancs in the world. The Screaming Eagle originates from Oakville in the US. This wine is produced in limited quantities each year and sold to private buyers
2. J.S. Terrantez Madeira – approximately £7165
This fortified wine was produced in Portugal the same year Thomas Jefferson was sworn into his second year of presidency.
3. Penfolds Grange Hermitage 1951 – approximately £30,253
Stepping it up a level we have the Penfolds Grange Hermitage 1951 originating from Australia. Only 20 bottles of this wine are known to exist, which is reflected in its price tag. This wine is regarded by many as one of Australia’s finest and is best described as predominantly Shiraz with a hint of Cabernet Sauvignon.
4. Egon Muller Scharzhofberger Riesling Trockenbeerenausle – approximately £26,957
If you’re a fan of white wine this might be the one for you. This is a Riesling from the Mosel region of Germany. One of the Müller family creations, the family has been producing wines in their steep Germany vineyards since 1797.
5. Romanee Conti 1945 – approximately £98,642
Approaching nearly £100,000 is the Romanee Conti from 1945. The price-point of this wine comes from the legendary Romanee Conti wines being destroyed by Phylloxera in 1946. There are around 600 bottles extant in the world from the original vines which were restored in 1952.
6. Chateau Lafite’s 1869 – approximately £183,114
The bidding war for the Chateau Lafite’s 1969 rare vintage resulted in the bottle selling for just over £183,000. The auction took place in Hong Kong 2010. Though ancient, the wine was known to the collector who acquired all 3 of the 3 available 1869 bottles for a total of £549,000.
7. Jeroboam of Chateau Mouton-Rothschild 1945 – approximately £246,806
Originating from the vineyard of the richest family on earth, it’s no surprise that this wine comes with such a hefty price tag.
With symbolism on the label indicating the victory of the Allied forces in the Second World War, the wine is said to be one of the best vintages of the last 100 years.
If you can’t quite afford a bottle, then why not have a glass for just £6871!
8. 1947 Cheval-Blanc – approximately £192,000
In 2010, the 67 year old bottle was sold to a private collector at a Christies auction in Geneva. According to the Classification of Saint-Emilion wine, the Cheval Blanc has a class A status. Of all the merlot wines, there are only two which were granted this classification.
The grapes were said to be legendary between April and October of 1947, and the survivor bottle is the only known bottle in the Imperial format from this particular Saint-Emilion vintage.
9. Screaming Eagle Cabernet 1992 – approximately £398,075
This wine costs more than the average person’s home.
Over the years the cabernet has topped several of the world's most expensive wine lists. It eventually sold at a charity auction in 2000. The wine is aged in 60% new oak and has an aroma of blackcurrants, a subtle trace of oak
and an opaque purple appearance.
10. Romanee-Conti 1945 – £444,251
This is the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold. It was purchased by a collector in 2018 at a Sotherby’s sale in New York of the estate of Robert Drouhin, one of the most notable men in Burgundy. The vineyards of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti are renowned throughout Burgundy and embraced as the highest quality standard of the notable wine. There were only 600 bottles made of the 1945 vintage, which is heralded as “the unicorn vintage”.