In this article, we are going to discuss the 20 most expensive wines in the world. If you’re also curious about which whiskeys have fetched the highest prices in the international market, here are the 15 Most Expensive Whiskeys in the World.
In ancient times, due to the scarcity of water, wine had become an essential need rather than a luxury, so it came to symbolize sustenance and life. The drink has had such a tremendous cultural impact on human society that it even played an important role in several religions and rituals around the world. The Egyptians had Hathor, the goddess of wine, while the Greeks had Dionysus as their patron of wine and pleasure. For Romans, it was a gift from Jupiter. In the East, wine has its place on Japanese shrines, as well as the ceremonial altars of China. Perhaps it truly is a gift from the gods.
Global Wine Market:
Wine is one of the Most Consumed Alcohols in the World. As we mentioned in our article – 15 Best Wine Producing Regions in the World – the global wine market size was valued at $441.6 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach a value of $698.54 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 5.9% over the forecast period.
Wine is gaining huge popularity among millennials and youngsters, owing to its refreshing appeal and low ABV offerings. The rising demand for premium and luxury wines, increasing consumer awareness about the health benefits of wine, and the growing popularity of wine tourism are some of the key factors driving the growth of the wine market.
The United States was the world leader in the wine market in 2022 in terms of revenue, with $52.7 billion. Here are the U.S. States that Drink the Most Wine.
Wine As a Lucrative Investment Asset:
Rare wines are incredible as investment vehicles. This beloved tipple can preserve and even increase in value during economic instabilities, inflationary periods, and recessions. RareWine Invest is Scandinavia’s largest provider of investment wine, with the Danish company administering and storing wine worth over $215 million on behalf of thousands of investors globally. In an interview with Forbes last year, Lars Granat Jensen, the CMO of RareWine Invest stated the following:
“The performance of wine under management at RareWine Invest in 2022 was 22.5%, and our annualized performance for the past five years was 12.88% per year. Last year 1,115 positions under management at RareWine Invest were realized and the average return was 88%.”
Sustainability in the Wine Industry:
When we talk about sustainable winemaking, it is usually about the entire process and not just the additives at the end. There has been a concerted effort across the entire wine industry to transition towards biodiversity and organic farming. This means no pesticides, herbicides, or synthetic fertilizers, and an all-around effort to promote a variety of plant life in the vineyard. In short – growing grapes in a way that is harmonious with nature. This is an approach that a massive amount of wine producers have now embraced.
Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) is a leading premium wine company with a widely admired portfolio that includes Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi, Clos du Bois, Blackstone, Estancia, Ravenswood, and more. It was announced last year that the company’s renowned To Kalon Vineyard has achieved organic certification through California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF), the first organic certifying agency in the U.S. Located in Napa’s Oakville appellation, To Kalon Vineyard has been farmed organically for the past four years and meets rigorous standards around the use of renewable resources and conservation of soil and water. This achievement accelerates STZ’s deep commitment to its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy while improving the health and sustainability of the land for future generations.
The New York-based company made headlines last summer when its Mexican beer brand, Modelo Especial, became the Top-Selling Beer in America after dethroning Bud Light. As a result, STZ reported a revenue of over $2.12 billion during its last quarter of the fiscal year 2024, a significant increase of 22.7% compared to the previous year. Net income also went up by 11.7% to reach $105 million.
The U.S. beer industry saw a tough start to the year, given the poor weather conditions in the states. However, STZ’s beer segment, which brought in 82% of its sales in FY 2024, still reported growth of 10.9% during the last quarter. The volume demand continues to grow and the company management stating that Q1 2025 is ‘setting us off on a really solid year’ suggests that they are seeing no major signs of slowdown. And while STZ’s Wine & Spirits segment witnessed a 5.6% decline in Q4, its smaller size minimizes the downside risk. For fiscal year 2024, Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) generated $2.8 billion in operating cash flow and was able to reduce its net leverage ratio by nearly half a point while returning over $900 million back to its shareholders through quarterly dividends and share repurchases. And although its forward dividend yield doesn’t seem high at 1.51%, the company has both paid and grown its dividends for the last eight years.
Another factor helping STZ is that America’s Hispanic population is growing almost twice as fast as its general population, so brands like Modelo and Corona are expected to stay in high demand. Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) continues to be one of the Best Alcohol Stocks to Buy Now, with 47 hedge fund holders in Q1 2024 boasting an overall stake value of over $2.74 billion.
With that said, here are the Top Wines in the World by Price.
Pixabay/Public Domain
Methodology:
To collect data for this article, we referred to sources such as Forbes, Sotheby’s, Sommelier Business etc., looking for the Most Expensive Bottles of Wine. The following wines have been ranked by their dollar sale prices as reported in the sources above, or their average prices as mentioned on Wine-Searcher.
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20. Domaine Georges & Christophe Roumier Echezeaux Grand Cru
Average Price on Wine-Searcher: $17,495
Located in the village of Chambolle-Musigny, Domaine Roumier began as a wedding gift in 1924. Today it is run by Christophe Roumier and includes 12 hectares of vines in 11 different appellations. Christophe’s use of new oak and a deft hand for green harvesting and pruning have led to the creation of some of the most highly-rated wines in the world.
19. Leroy Domaine d’Auvenay Criots-Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Average Price on Wine-Searcher: $19,203
Established in 1988, Domaine d’Auvenay is a biodynamically farmed wine owned by the legendary Lalou Bize-Leroy. Criots-Bâtard Montrachet is the smallest of Bâtard-Montrachet’s three grand cru vineyards, so its wines are some of the most exclusive from the region of Burgundy.
18. Leroy Domaine d’Auvenay Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Average Price on Wine-Searcher: $21,757
Another great offering from Burgundy’s Domaine d’Auvenay, this Chardonnay has been rated by critics as one of the top five Batard-Montrachet wines. The domaine produces some of the best Chardonnays in the world, and their prices reflect this success.
17. Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee-Conti Grand Cru
Average Price on Wine-Searcher: $23,737
Rated as one of the best available French wines in the world, the Romanee-Conti Grand Cru is the flagship wine from Domaine de la Romanee-Conti. Considered the pinnacle of Burgundy, DRC is one of the Most Expensive Wine Brands in the current market and produces around 6,000 cases of wine per year from its tiny vineyards in Vosne-Romanée.
16. Leroy Domaine d’Auvenay Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru
Average Price on Wine-Searcher: $24,517
One of the Most Sought-After Wines in the World, the Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru is another coveted Chardonnay from Domaine d’Auvenay. The entire vineyard is situated on 4 acres, 0.16 of which are dedicated to Chevalier-Montrachet.
15. 1775 Massandra Sherry de la Frontera
Price: $43,500
Hailing from Jerez de la Frontera in Spain, Sherry de la Frontera is the oldest wine in Crimea’s Massandra Winery collection – a treasure trove that includes over a million vintages. A bottle of this iconic Sherry was famously shared by President Vladimir Putin and ex-Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi during the latter’s visit to Crimea in 2015.
In 2001, a single bottle of this luxury expression was auctioned for $43,500 to an unidentified buyer in London.
14. 2013 Leroy Musigny Grand Cru
Price: $47,333
In 2021, Cult Wines announced the sale of a three-bottle case of 2013 Domaine Leroy Musigny to a customer in Asia. The case sold for $142,000, or approximately $47,333 per bottle, One of the finest Pinot Noirs from Burgundy, the average price of Leroy Musigny has increased by over 640% on Wine-Searcher between 2016 and 2024, from an average bottle price of $5,608 to $41,534.
13. 1951 Penfolds Grange
Price: $104,587
The first Australian entry in our list of the World’s Most Expensive Wines, Penfolds Grange 1951 is considered by many as the finest vintage from the Land Down Under, created by the legendary winemaker Max Schubert himself. There are estimated to be only about 35 bottles of Penfolds Grange Hermitage Bin 1 Shiraz 1951 left in existence, making it one of the Rarest Wines in the World.
12. 1811 Chateau d’Yquem
Price: $117,000
Widely regarded as the pinnacle of fine sweet wine, Chateau d’Yquem is distinguished by its aromatic expression, unique texture, and lingering length on the palate. With a yield of merely one glass per vine, the rareness of this Sauternes wine contributes to its prestige.
In July 2011, an 1811 bottle of Chateau d’Yquem – a vintage often claimed to be the best white wine ever – sold for an eye-watering $117,000 at The Ritz Hotel in London, setting the record for the Most Expensive White Wine ever sold at the time.
11. 1978 Henri Jayer Vosne-Romanée Cros Parantoux
Price: $144,893
The Vosne-Romanee Cros Parantoux 1978 was crafted by Henri Jayer, known as the ‘Master of Pinot Noir’. The sale of the legendary Burgundy vintner’s remaining collection took place in 2018, with a magnum of the 1978 Cros Parantoux fetching $144,893, more than three times the high estimate of just over $40,000. The entire collection of Henry Jayer’s 215 lots sold for a staggering $34.7 million.
10. 1787 Chateau Lafite Rothschild
Price: $156,450
One of the Top 10 Most Expensive Wines in the world, the 1787 vintage of the famed Chateau Lafite Rothschild was recovered nearly 200 years later in a cellar in Paris. Although the Bordeaux wine was way past its expiry date at that point, what made it truly invaluable were the initials ‘ThJ’ engraved on it, purportedly indicating that it had once belonged to noted French wine connoisseur and U.S. President Thomas Jefferson. The bottle was sold as Jefferson memorabilia in 1985 and is now part of the Forbes Collection in New York.
9. Penfolds Ampoule
Price: $168,000
To celebrate the provenance of truly extraordinary wine, Australian winery Penfolds released a $168,000 limited edition glass Ampoule, containing 2004 Kalimna Block 42 Cabernet Sauvignon – a rare wine in a truly distinctive format. The winery joined forces with glass-maker Nick Mount, designer-maker Hendrik Forster, furniture craftsman Andrew Bartlett, and scientific glassblower Ray Leake to produce this very exclusive wine encased within a breath-taking, hand-blown ampoule, which is suspended within a bespoke Jarrah cabinet. Only twelve of these ampoules were made, with 11 available for purchase, and the 12th reserved for the Penfolds Museum in Australia.
8. 1787 Chateau Margaux
Price: $225,000
Revered by Thomas Jefferson as the ‘best Bordeaux he has ever had’, Chateau Margaux 1787 has the distinction of being the most expensive bottle of wine ‘never’ sold. In 1989, a wine merchant named William Sokolin brought the bottle to a Margaux dinner at the Four Seasons hotel in New York, when a server knocked the bottle over, destroying its contents. The bottle eventually claimed $225,000 from insurers.
7. 1869 Chateau Lafite Rothschild
Price: $230,000
Three bottles of Chateau Lafite’s 1869 vintage each sold for an eye-watering price of $230,000 at the Hong Kong Sotheby’s auction in 2010, underlining Asia’s dominance in the auction market for trophy-label wines. Prices for Lafite are stratospheric in Asia, where it is considered a luxury purchase and a coveted gift item.
6. Armand de Brignac Midas
Price: $265,000
Known for its bottles that hold 30 liters of premium Champagne, Armand de Brignac is a prestige cuvée handcrafted and produced using old-world techniques by a staff of just eight people in a single-family owned vineyard and house established in 1763. The offering’s gold-painted bottle has also helped boost its popularity, as it was designed to be one of the most luxurious wines in the world.
5. 1907 Heidsieck & Co. Monopole Diamant Bleu ‘Shipwrecked’ Champagne
Price: $275,000
In 1998, the discovery of the sunken Swedish freighter Jönköping off Finland surfaced about 2,000 very old bottles of bubbly. These bottles are of particular interest to collectors and historians because they provide a glimpse into the past and can reveal vital information about the time period in which they were produced. By chance, this same wine, same vintage, also went down on the Titanic, which makes us unsure if we’d like this bottle onboard the next time we’re out in the deep, blue sea.
