Wine, the phenomenal drink that can cost from $1 to the world record $500,000 a bottle. Robb Report presents you the list of the top 5 based on average prices sold across several vintages of these liquid gold.
Kicking off our list with No. 5, a Chardonnay from Burgundy, France – Domaine Leflaive Montrachet Grand Cru with the average price of $9,187 per bottle. Le Montrachet grand cru vineyard is widely considered as the best site for Chardonnay. Situated on the prime position on a hill that covers the land of 2 famous villages, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet, the vines are angled perfectly towards sunlight and the water drainage is excellent. Combining with the wine making skills of Domaine Leflaive, one of the best Chardonnay producers in Côte de Beaune, it is now ranked as the most expensive Chardonnay in the world.
Coming in at No. 4 is the most expensive white wine in the world, a German Riesling well known for its intense flavors and age-worthiness – Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Trockenbeerenauslese. This is a very sweet wine made from dried grapes that are affected by Botrytis cinerea (aka Noble rot) which causes the grapes to shrivel like raisins giving out exotic aromas to the wine in return. Scharzhofberg is one of the most famous vineyards of Germany and although the vineyards ranking system in Germany is different, it is a grand cru site if compared to the Burgundy system. An average price for a bottle of this wine is $10,763.The rest of the list has a common theme, the pinnacle of wine pilgrimage, Burgundy Pinot Noirs. At No. 3 Domaine Leroy Musigny Grand Cru is commanding $10,879 per bottle on average. Based in Côte de Nuits, Domaine Leroy was founded in 1868 and has become one of the most iconic wine producers ever since, producing wines from several grand cru sites such as Le Chambertin, Clos de Vougeot, Romanée-Saint-Vivant, and Musigny. Le Musigny, a grand cru vineyard famous for producing rich, complex, and well balanced Pinot Noirs, is situated in the village of Chambolle-Musigny which lies in the very heart of the Côte de Nuits. No. 2 on the list is another wine from Le Musigny – Domaine Georges Roumier Musigny Grand Cru. Well known for focusing more on the grapes and terroir, Christophe Roumier, the domaine’s current winemaker is producing wines that truly express the spirits of Burgundy. $11,325 is the average price for a bottle of this beauty.
The champion of our list, the ultimate wine of all wines, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Conti Grand Cru. Commonly referred to as DRC, is one of the most sought after wines by collectors and connoisseurs. It is sadly also one of the most counterfeited wines in the world, mainly because one bottle of a DRC would command a whopping $18,126 on average. The domaine is a monopole, meaning single owner to the vineyard. The Romanée-Conti vineyard site and soil is perfectly suited for Pinot Noir, with the right amount of sunshine, drainage, and minerals in the soil and also the vines are more than 50 years old on average, creating the perfect ingredients for a magnificent wine as we all know – powerful, high complexity, and can age for decades. Another reason for its high price is the scarcity, with only 5 – 6,000 bottles produced each year while demands are going into the opposite direction.
The world is constantly changing and evolving, trends and popularities shift from one to another. But these 5 classic wines seem to have a place of their own and do not look like they are going to change any time soon.
Credit : wine-searcher.com
