08 Sep Top 20 Most Expensive Wines & Brands in the World
When you’re shopping for a bottle of wine, you will notice they are available at a wide variety of price points. A good bottle of table wine can be purchased for under $10, but you can also buy wines which cost thousands of dollars per bottle. The two main influencers of wine prices are production costs and the number of bottles available from the winery.
The production costs include the cost of producing grapes and the techniques a winemaker uses during production. Also, if a winemaker only produces a few cases each season, and there is a demand for their wine, then the higher the price will be per bottle. Here are 10 of the most expensive wines along with 10 of the most expensive wine brands in the world.
10 of the World’s Most Expensive Wines
The prices of these wines mainly depend on where the vineyards are and their low production levels.
Domaine de la Romanee – Conti Romanee – Conti Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits, France
A bottle of this French burgundy wine averages $15,315 in the United States, but a bottle was once sold for $86,053. To be awarded the designation of Romanee – Conti Grand Cru, the wine must consist of at least 85% Pinot Noir grapes.
Egon Muller Scharzhofberger Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese, Mosel, Germany
This white wine goes for an average of $10,627 per bottle. This winemaker grows all the grapes they use in their wines and, as this Riesling is considered Grand Cru, it can be labeled with the vineyard name instead of the name of the village where it is made.
Domaine Leroy Musigny Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits, France
The Domaine Leroy Musigny is considered to be one of the best Pinot Noir wines in the world, which is why you’ll pay an average of $7,563 per bottle for it. There are only about 600 to 700 bottles of this wine produced each year.
Domaine Leflaive Montrachet Grand Cru, Cote de Beaune, France
This Chardonnay is grown by considering the moon’s phases and the alignment of the planets during its production. The vineyard produces many good white wines, including this one which sells for an average of $6,754 per bottle.
Domaine Georges & Christophe Roumier Musigny Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits, France
The Burgundy region of France is well-known for its array of red wines. This winery produces less than 400 bottles each year, so it will cost an average of $6,387 to get your hands on a bottle of it.
Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Montrachet Grand Cru, Cote de Beaune, France
Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, or DRC for short, only made red wines until 1963 when they bought three plots of land in one of the Montrachet Grand Cru vineyards. Now, they produce this Chardonnay, which sells for an average of $5,424 per bottle.
Joh. Jos. Prüm – Wehlener Sonnenuhr – Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese – Mosel, Germany
The family producing this Riesling has been in the winemaking business for over 400 years. However, it wasn’t until the 1920s that they began making Rieslings. Since they are a low output operation, a bottle of this wine costs an average of $5,029.
Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese Goldkapsel, Mosel, Germany
The Mosel river valley in Germany is home to many well-regarded wineries, including Fritz Haag. The vineyard will only produce their Rieslings during the best years for the grapes, which means paying up to an average of $4,121 for a bottle of it.
Domaine Leroy Chambertin Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits, France
Another wine that comes from Domaine Leroy is the Chambertin Grand Cru. The grapes grow in what is thought of as the most important Grand Cru vineyards in Le Chambertin. This Pinot Noir averages $4,119 per bottle.
Staatsweingut Kloster Eberbach Erbacher Steinberger Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese, Rheingau, Germany
This Riesling comes from a government run winery, which the word Staatsweingut indicates, in Kloster Eberbach. This region is known for crisp white wines and a bottle of this wine averages $3,621.
10 of the World’s Most Expensive Wine Brands
While the top 10 most expensive bottles of wine are mainly French and German, the wine brands include American, Australian, and Chilean brands as well.
Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon
The Napa Valley winery produces small amounts of several wines. Along with Cabernet Sauvignon, the California company also produces Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc, and several other varieties. They only produce about 500 to 850 cases of wine per year.
Chateau Margaux
This French wine company was founded in 1787 and boasts of several varieties of wine, including red wines like Margaux de Chateau Margaux, Pavillion Rouge du Chateau Margaux, and a dry, white wine called Pavillion Blanc du Chateau Margaux. A limited edition 12-liter bottle of a 2009 Chateau Margaux once sold for over $158,200.
Chateau Lafite
Chateau Lafite has always been well-known for making some of the world’s best wines since its founding in the 17th century. In the late 1800s, the Rothschild family bought the winery, and now, some of the world’s most expensive bottles of wines have come from Chateau Lafite Rothschild.
Penfolds Grand Hermitage
This brand of wine is made in Southern Australia and is a Shiraz wine. The company only makes small amounts of each vintage, about 5,000 to 15,000 cases, which helps to increase its value.
Cheval Blanc
This winery is only one of two to have the distinction of being a Premier Grand Cru Classé (A) status. They make mostly Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. In 2010, an imperial bottle of their 1947 vintage was sold at Christies auction for over $254,700.00
Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignon
The Inglenook brand produces over 100 vintages of wine in varying amounts. Part of their Napa Valley vineyards produce over half a million cases per year, but only about 20,000 cases of their estate wines, including the Cabernet Sauvignon, per year.
Hardys Wine
This Australian brand produces several varieties including Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir and distributes them internationally. Unlike most expensive brands, Hardys produces about 750 million liters of wine each year.
Domaine de la Romanee-Conti
The vineyard that produces this wine has been in existence since the 17th century, and they only produce an average of 450 cases per year of La Romanee Conti wines.
Beringer
Beringer is another Napa Valley winery known for their distinctive wines. Founded in 1876, they are the oldest continually producing vineyards in California’s wine country. They produce several varieties from Cabernet Franc to Rieslings to Zinfandels.
Concha y Toro
This Chilean winery was originally founded in 1883 and produce many varieties, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, and Carmenere. They merged with Banfi Vintners in 1987 and now use better technology to produce their wines.