Hello,
Does anyone have a definitive figure on the most ever paid for a bottle of wine?
I found this article, but it was from 2003, and I'm sure there has been something else more recently that was more expensive.
Thanks a lot,
Mat.
You might try the most recent Guinness Book Of World Records, since Forbes mentions this as their source, and there likely is a new edition or two of the book since the 03 Forbes article.
Of course the most expensive might have been missed if it was sold directly by one rich collector to another without publicity.
Actually, contrary to what Forbes might lead you to believe, some very old wines are very drinkable, but usualy these are not dry table wines. Michael Broadbent has tasted some Madeiras from the 1700s that still were drinking well. The best Tokaji Eszencia can easily last a few hundred years in very good condition. Should a bottle of this from the cellar of one of the Russian Tsars come on the market, I would guess that it would sell for an extremely high price.
Reply to snipped-for-privacy@cwdjr.net .
You can even buy 1795 Terrantez on the island.
M.
I don't know whether any bottle has gone for more than this in the last couple of years but according to the Jancis Robinson book I just read, the bottle referred to in that article fetched such a high price because it was one of those from Thomas Jefferson's collection. The purchaser, Malcolm Forbes, put the bottle in his Jefferson museum by a model of Jefferson. Unfortunately the bottle was upright by a spotlight and after a while the staff noticed that the cork had dried out and fallen into the bottle which by that stage contained vinegar!
Curiosity only Michaell...ball park spend???
hooroo....
Michael Broadbent describes the Jefferson 1787 Lafite in his Vintage wine. There was some dispute over the authenticity over some of the few Jefferson bottles. Broadbent only sold a single bottle at Christie's to Christopher Forbes , who flew the wine in the Forbes private jet to New York the evenng of the auction. Broadbent also relates the fate of the Forbes bottle.
Of the other Jefferson bottles, there was considerable evidence that one bottle was not authentic. In August 1992 a half bottle from the original Jefferson collection was opened and analyzed by the experts Dr. Bonani of Zurich and Prof. Edward Hill of Oxford ( they examined the Turn shroud). Michael Broadbent pulled the cork in the presence of Dr. Bonani, the owner and a lawyer. After a long and expensive investigation, the wine and cork were found to be absolutely correct.
Broadbent's tasting note is: "tawny, no red, a dark brown flaky sediment; nose restrained and though oxidised opening up quite richly with residual fruit traces; a touch of sweetness on the palate and acidic, acidic, finish." He does not give it a stars rating.
However Broadbent has aso tasted 1787 Chateau Margaux and Chateau Branne-Mouton( now called Mouton-Rothschild). Both of these were still very good and he rated them 4 out of 5 star. There can be little question about the Branne-Mouton, since Broadbent tasted it at Ch. Mouton-Rothschild in 1986 along with Jancis Robinson, some German collectors, and two of the Mouton staff. It is quite rare for red table wines of this age to be very good, but these two mentioned wines prove that it can happen. As another example, Broadbent gave his top five star rating to a 1791 Chateau Margaux that he tasted in 1987. In one of his older books, Broadbent describes tasting the 1771 Chateau Margaux in
1987. It of course was somewhat faded, but still quite drinkable, and he gave it a 2 out of 5 star rating.Reply to snipped-for-privacy@cwdjr.net .
Could somebody translate this into an understandable version of English, please? (Sorry, it's not my mother tongue.)
M.
To which "Michael Pronay" asked......
Please excuse our Australian friends Michael - in fact, to most Australians, English is a second language!!! ;-))
What Swooper was asking translated into "Approximately, [ball park] what would one have to [spend] to purchase a bottle of 1795 Terrantez?"
Sorry, no idea, the price lists (Barbeito, iirc) says "upon request" to anything older than 1850, the pricing of these latter wines already being north of EUR500.
M.
Thank you for the response Michael, and the translation Lord St H...:>)
hooroo...
Salut/Hi Michael Pronay,
le/on Fri, 27 May 2005 11:26:38 +0200, tu disais/you said:-
"Approximate cost please". (hooroo is beyond my limited powers ofcomprehension, no doubt some tribal war cry).
I have found some 1700s vintage Madeira for Swooper. Go to
One could pay much more for a much more recent cult wine. For example, Romanee-Conti 1985 now goes for what the market will bear, which often is well over US$ 5000 from a few carriage trade wine sources and auctions.
Reply to snipped-for-privacy@cwdjr.net .
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