Tales of legendary, rare and expensive bottles of wine fascinate wine lovers and collectors from all over the world. Although we may never spend such great sums on this luxury, it is interesting to see just how much a few perfectly squeezed grapes can go for at auction. Fear not though as not every bottle of wine you will see up for grabs is so expensive and Catawiki's weekly Wine auctions are a great place to find rare wines at good prices. In the meantime, crack open a bottle of whatever you fancy and discover the top ten most expensive wines sold at auction!
10. Penfolds Grange Hermitage, 1951: €32,000
With around twenty bottles in existence today, it is no wonder that this iconic red wine goes for a fair sum at auction. In May 2004, a wine lover and collector from Adelaide, Australia shelled out just over €32,000 for one of the remaining bottles at auction.
9. Massandra 1775: €47,000
Massandra is the oldest wine cellar in the Ukraine and its sherry from 1775 is the rarest of its kind. In 2001, a decanter of this special Massandra Sherry de la Frontera sold at auction for a mind-blowing £27,867 (approximately €47,000) in London. Its powerful flavour alongside its deep golden colour make it truly unique.
8. Château d’Yquem 1811: €79,700
Christian Vanneque (1949-2015), former head sommelier of the Parisian restaurant La Tour d'Argent, knows a thing or two about wine. That is perhaps the reason why in 2011, he purchased the 200-year-old bottle of white wine that now sits proudly behind bulletproof glass in his restaurant in Bali.
7. Château Mouton Rothschild, 1945: €80,819
Sold in 2012 at auction in Hong Kong, the Château Mouton Rothschild from 1945 is one of the greatest vintages of all time. The single jeroboam, a bottle of 3 litres, holds about as much as four standard size bottles of wine.
6. Château Lafite 1787: €132,000
With nicknames such as ‘billionaire’s vinegar’ this legendary bottle of 1787 Château Lafite was another wine allegedly owned by former US President Thomas Jefferson. Publisher Malcolm Forbes bought the bottle in 1985 at auction in London. Although we're not entirely sure if this truly belonged to the President himself, the initials ‘THJ’ have been etched into the glass of the bottle making it cause for great speculation ever since! Today the bottle resides in the Forbes collection in New York.
5. Chateau Margaux 1787: €191,000
Up next is a very rare bottle of Château Margaux that dates all the way back to 1787. It was authenticated as previously being a part of the wine collection of Thomas Jefferson, ex-President of the United States of America. The story does not end here however. When William Sokolin, a New York win merchant, brought the bottle to a Four Season’s Hotel for a dinner party, he dropped it, which led to an insurance company paying out a hefty sum.
4. Château Lafite 1869: €195,000
Bidders were locked in an intense battle when a bottle of Château Lafite from 1869 hit the auction house floor in Hong Kong in 2010. The rare vintage standard sized bottle went for a cool $230,000 (approximately €195,000). This constitutes the most anyone has ever paid for a standard sized bottle of wine in history. The bottles in auction came directly from the Lafite Rothschild cellars.
Sold to a private collector at auction in Geneva, the imperial bottle (6 litres) of Cheval Blanc has been described by its estate in Saint Emillion as ‘an accident of nature’. The product of a blazing hot summer, the grapes were shrivelled by the sun and the heat even trickled down to the cellars producing ‘stuck fermentation’ resulting in high levels of residual sugar and acidity. Two wrongs really do make a right as this wine evolved into something incredible tasty, magical and best of all expensive. Santé!
2. Shipwrecked 1907 Heidsieck & Co Monopole Champagne 'Daimant Bleu': €224,000
This champagne holds extreme historical value making it one of the most expensive of its kind. In 1998, two thousand bottles of Champagne were rescued from a ship which had been hit by a German submarine during WWI. Its value is largely thanks to its novelty, making it a hit at auctions all over the world. One bottle sold at auction in Moscow for upwards of €224,000, making it one of, if not the most expensive champagnes every sold at auction.
1. Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon 1992: €424,000
Purchased by Chase Bailey at a charity wine auction in the U.S. in 2000, the Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon is unofficially the world’s most expensive 6-litre bottle of red wine. Confused? As the wine auction was for charity it is normally left off any official lists of sold wine. Nearly half a million for six litres of this wines very first vintage. Makes you wonder where the other unique twin bottle is.
There you have the fanciest and most exclusive wines in the world. If you want to start your own collection then there is no better place to go than Catawiki. With a huge range of wines at auction, you are sure to bag yourself a bottle or two. On the other hand, if you already have a collection or an exceptional bottle that you'd like to put up for auction, you can register to become a seller here and see if you can earn a spot on our next top 10 list.