Top 5 Most Expensive Bottles Of Wine Ever Sold

by Sam Kimball
Because of the limited ingredients and growing conditions for the grapes, wine is one of the toughest draughts to make well and, and the most highly touted of vintages have sold for gargantuan amounts of money over the decades.

Adding to the delicate and intricate process and the weather conditions playing magic (or wreaking havoc) with the grape vines is the condition that time plays in the process.

Great wine can be accentuated to a state of near euphoria for the proverbial palate by shelving it in a cool place and letting father time stir the ingredients.

Because of this collectors and wine drinkers alike covet particularly good years of wine.

Because of the limited ingredients and growing conditions for the grapes, wine is one of the toughest draughts to make well and, and the most highly touted of vintages have sold for gargantuan amounts of money over the decades.

Adding to the delicate and intricate process and the weather conditions playing magic (or wreaking havoc) with the grape vines is the condition that time plays in the process. Great wine can be accentuated to a state of near euphoria for the proverbial palate by shelving it in a cool place and letting father time stir the ingredients and extend the fermentation adding to the robust flavors.

Because of this collectors and wine drinkers alike covet particularly good years of wine, and when a rare bottle is kept on the shelf as its brothers and sisters and emptied over the months and years can make for a perfect storm of damn good and extraordinarily expensive selling wine.

Most Expensive Wine Ever Sold

Here are the five most expensive bottles of wine in the world:

5. Chateau Lafite’s 1869 | $230,000

Though estimated to sell for up to $60K each, the Chateau Lafite’s 1869 bidding war for the rare vintage resulted in a $230,000 for a standard sized bottle available at a Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong in 2010. Though ancient, the wine was known to the collector who acquired all three of the three available 1869 bottles for a total of $690,000. This is the most anyone has been willing to pay for a standard sized bottle of vino, and the owner can slowly relish drinking the first two bottles while keeping the third to the envy of all.

4. Shipwrecked 1907 Heidsieck | $275,000

Chiming in at number three is a bottle of champagne that was salvaged from a Swedish Freighter off the coast of Finland in 1998, the 1907 Heidsieck, which sold at numerous auctions and brought in as much as £163,000 (or $275,000 US). The kicker here, folks is that 2,000 of these bottles were recovered, but the story of the commissioned ship destined for the Imperial Court of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia that had been torpedoed by a German Submarine in World War I adds significant historical significance to the 100-plus year old flavor.

3. 1947 Cheval-Blanc | $304,375 (£192,000)*

The 1947 French Cheval-Blanc is widely recognized as the most expensive sold bottle of vino in history at $304,375 (see the next wine for the asterisk* explanation). 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 [and] … of all the merlot wines, there are only two which were granted with this classification. The grapes were said to be legendary between April and October of 1947, and the survivor bottle that outlived many a person is the only known bottle in the Imperial format from this particular Saint-Emilion vintage.

2. Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon 1992 | $500,000*

The most expensive wine ever sold is the exception to the dated rule of rare wine, as it was not even a decade old at the time of purchase; the six liter Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon 1992 bottle sold for a whopping half a million bucks (that’s right, folks, $500,000) in 2000 at a Napa Valley charity auction! It was only available for a limited time in 1995, and apparently was the cat’s meow, at least to one wine connoisseur out there, because it is rumored Chase Bailey, a former Cisco Systems executive, picked this up, though we have an asterisk* here (unlike Major League Baseball’s home run record book), because the $500K bottle was knocked down a bit in price because it was a charity sale, although it could still have sold for more than any other wine in history.

1. Romanée-Conti 1945 | $558,000

This is not only the most expensive bottle of Burgundy ever sold but is the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold. It was purchased by a collector in 2018 at a Sotheby’s sale in New York of the estate of Robert Drouhin, one of the most notable men in Burgundy. The vineyard 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 actually heralded as “the unicorn vintage” hence why it smashed every record for the most expensive wine ever purchased.

When will we see a bottle of red go for the fabled one million dollars? The highest price of wine is ever evolving.



FEATURED EVENTS

Crush Wine Experiences

October 23, 2021

A once-in-a-lifetime experience

Piedmont Italy: Barolo and Barbaresco tour

Oct 23 – 30, 2021
6 nights, 7 days
Milan, Barolo, Alba, and Turin

RESERVE NOW
Crush Wine Experiences

September 23, 2020

Live Online Zoom Broadcast

Kotti Berliner – Food & Wine Pairing

Join us for a Virtual Food & Wine Pairing with Brooklyn’s Kotti Berliner. Explore delicious döner kebabs paired with wine. Meet Kotti founder, Erkan Emre.

RSVP FOR FREE
Crush Wine Experiences

September 16, 2020

Live Online Zoom Broadcast

Broadbent Selections – Portugal

Join us for a Virtual Tasting with one of America’s leading importers of high-quality Portuguese wines.

RSVP FOR FREE
Crush Wine Experiences

September 2, 2020

Live Online Zoom Broadcast

Cusumano Winery – Sicily, Italy

Join us for a Virtual Tasting with the maker of the #1 selling Sicilian wine in the U.S.

RSVP FOR FREE
Crush Wine Experiences

August 26, 2020

Live Online Zoom Broadcast

Kunde Family Winery

Join us for a Virtual Tasting. The Kunde family has farmed an 1,850-acre estate in Sonoma Valley for 100 years.

RSVP FOR FREE
Crush Wine Experiences

August 19, 2020

Live Online Zoom Broadcast

LangeTwins Family Winery and Vineyards

Join us for a Virtual Tasting. Great wine starts in the vineyard.

RSVP FOR FREE
Crush Wine Experiences

August 12, 2020

Live Online Zoom Broadcast

Dutcher Crossing Winery

Join us for a Virtual Tasting. Distinctive and hand-crafted wines produced from award-winning vineyards.

RSVP FOR FREE
Crush Wine Experiences

June 12, 2020

At Your Home

RGNY At-Home Blending Session

Be your own winemaker for a day — guided by a professional on Zoom video!

PURCHASE KIT & ZOOM TICKET
Crush Wine Experiences

May 29, 2020

Live Online Zoom Broadcast

Virtual Wine & Pizza Tasting with Jamesport Vineyards

What’s better than great wine and artisanal pizza?

RSVP FOR FREE
Crush Wine Experiences

May 28, 2020

Live Online Zoom Broadcast

Foxen Winery & Vineyard Virtual Tasting

Experience the magic of Santa Barbara wine.

RSVP FOR FREE
Crush Wine Experiences

May 28, 2020

Live Online Zoom Broadcast

Foxen Winery & Vineyard Virtual Tasting

Experience the magic of Santa Barbara wine.

RSVP FOR FREE
Crush Wine Experiences

May 21, 2020

Live Online Zoom Broadcast

Chateau Montelena Winery Virtual Tasting

This tasting will be epic.

RSVP FOR FREE
Crush Wine Experiences

May 19, 2020

Live Online Zoom Broadcast

Ridge Vineyards Virtual Tasting – Monte Bello winery

The New York Times described Ridge Monte Bello as “America’s greatest Cabernet Sauvignon.”

RSVP FOR FREE
Crush Wine Experiences

May 18, 2020

Live Online Zoom Broadcast

Tenuta di Lilliano Virtual Tasting

Very special tasting. Don’t miss it!

RSVP FOR FREE
Crush Wine Experiences

May 15, 2020

Live Online Zoom Broadcast

Pedroncelli Winery Virtual Tasting

Four Generations of Family Pride at Pedroncelli Winery, since 1927

RSVP FOR FREE
Crush Wine Experiences

May 14, 2020

Live Online Zoom Broadcast

Provence Rosé Group Virtual Tasting

The best rosé in the world comes from Provence.

RSVP FOR FREE
Crush Wine Experiences

May 13, 2020

Live Online Zoom Broadcast

St. Francis Winery Virtual Tasting

Voted “#1 in America” in 2013 and 2015 by Open Table customers.

RSVP FOR FREE
Crush Wine Experiences

May 12, 2020

Live Online Zoom Broadcast

Ridge Vineyards Virtual Tasting – Lytton Springs

The New York Times described Ridge’s Cabernet Sauvignon as America’s greatest.

RSVP FOR FREE
Crush Wine Experiences

May 11, 2020

Live Online Zoom Broadcast

Oak Farm Vineyards Virtual Tasting

Visit the famous wine-growing region of Lodi County, California – virtually!

RSVP FOR FREE
Crush Wine Experiences

May 8, 2020

Live Online Zoom Broadcast

Goldschmidt Vineyards Virtual Tasting

Visit Sonoma County – virtually!

RSVP FOR FREE
Crush Wine Experiences

April 18, 2020

Marlboro, NY

Wines & Bites!

Hudson Valley’s yummiest wine and food tasting event

GET TICKETS
Crush Wine Experiences

March 7, 2020

New York’s Premier Winter Wine Event

NYC Winter Wine and Food Festival

Enjoy a winter getaway without even leaving the city.

GET TICKETS
Crush Wine Experiences

January 19, 2020

Riverhead, NY

RG|NY Blending Session

Join RG|NY winemaker Lilia Perez, for a unique tasting and blending session.

PURCHASE TICKETS
Crush Wine Experiences

December 14, 2019

Ulster & Orange Counties, NY

Wreath Fineries at the Wineries

Don’t miss the ultimate holiday wine tasting event in the Hudson Valley. Sales end Thursday, Dec 12 at 11:59pm!

PURCHASE TICKETS
Crush Wine Experiences

November 14, 2019

New York, NY

Around The World In 10 Wines

Experience a global tasting in 2 hours with award-winning artisan cheese and charcuterie

PURCHASE TICKETS

RELATED WINE BLOGS

Wednesday, July 19th, 2023

Exploring The Wines of Portugal
Why should France, Italy, and Spain get all the attention? With many varietals you won’t find anywhere else, Portugal is an exciting and oft-overlooked wine region that deserves more recognition. If you’re looking to shake up your wine rack with high-quality, affordable wines from Europe, then keep reading! About Wine in Portugal Portugal has 14 - Read More
Read more...

Monday, June 26th, 2023

New York State’s 10 Best Wineries and Vineyards
Move over Napa, because New York has some great wine regions of its own.  The Finger Lakes, Hudson River Valley, Niagara, and Long Island all feature competitive wineries that create exceptional products.  There’s no longer a need to travel across the country to tour world-class vineyards: they’re in our own backyard.  Here’s our list of - Read More
Read more...

Wednesday, June 21st, 2023

Wine and Food Pairings For Summer
Wine and Food Pairings By The Shore What’s better than kicking back with your toes in the sand, listening to crashing waves with a glass of wine in your hand? Elevate your sun-soaked vacation with delicious wine and food pairings everyone will rave over! We have unexpected yet soon-to-be classic duos that you’ll savor seaside! - Read More
Read more...
LOAD MORE