First of all I apologise that I do not have sample bottles to show you but read on and you will see why…
Fine wine has been one of the best performing asset classes of the last 20 years, and with some bottles fetching thousands of pounds at UK auctions, buying high-end cases could be the answer to an early retirement – providing you have the bank balance to go for it!.
Cult Wines, one of the largest UK fine wine investment companies, has identified the most expensive wines available to buy today, with some worth upwards of £15,000 per bottle.
1. Domaine de la Romanee-Conti – Romanee-Conti Grand Cru – Burgundy, France
Average price per bottle: £11,793. (A$20,312.00)
Most expensive vintage: 1990, £15,702 (A$27,594.00) per bottle
Romanee-Conti is one of two monopoles owned by the world renowned Domaine de La Romanée Conti – often abbreviated to DRC – and is widely regarded as the most sought after wine in the world.
Production levels vary from 5,000-5,500 bottles per year from the 1.8 hectare vineyard.
Wines from the DRC stable have an excellent track record for growth, and over the past 10-15 years have been the best performing wines from Burgundy. The Burgundy 150 Index is up 298% over the last 15 years and has proven to be the most consistent wine index across this period.
Domaine de la Romanee Conti is widely regarded as the most sought after wine in the world.
2. Egon Muller – Scharzhofberger Riesling – Trockenbeerenauslese – Mosel, Germany
Average price per bottle: £8,183 ($14,098.00)
Most expensive vintage: 2003, £13,110 (A$22,588.00) per bottle
Egon Müller is a German winemaker and owner of the wine producer Weingut Egon Müller, Scharzhof, located just outside Wiltingen.
Since the 1900s the slopes of the Scharzhofberger have been well known for the quality of their wine, but it was the Müller family that affirmed the estate’s reputation for producing some of the best white wines in the world, with an unrivalled ability to produce great sweet wines in years when other estates fail.
The winery’s most prized wine is the Scharzhofberger Riesling.
3. Domaine Leroy – Musigny Grand Cru – Cote de Nuits, France
Average price per bottle £5,824 (A$10,033.00).
Most expensive vintage: 2012, £10,684 (A$18,390.00).per bottle
Previously a co-owner of Domaine de la Romanee Conti (with a 50pc stake purchased by her father Henri Leroy back in 1942), Madame Leroy is a pioneer of biodynamic means of production. She parted ways with DRC in 1992 as her side business of Domaine Leroy quickly became a direct rival.
It is widely noted that Madame Leroy makes her best wines in Musigny, and the sense of exclusivity surrounding the wines makes the price palatable for those consumers wealthy enough to consider buying them. Production levels for Musigny are estimated to be as low as 600-700 bottles per year.
Vineyards with low production levels are often more exclusive and therefore more valuable
4. Domaine Leflaive – Montrachet Grand Cru – Cote de Beaune, France
Average price per bottle: £5,201 (A$10,033.00).
Most expensive vintage: 2014, £8,885 (A$15,311.00) per bottle
The late Anne Claude Leflaive, sometimes described as the Grande Dame of Burgundy, is recognised as the most famous producer in Puligny-Montrachet.
Domaine Leflaive’s holdings represent some of the most precious terroirs in the world for Chardonnay, including the legendary Grand Cru vineyard Le Montrachet itself, which, most will agree, produces the greatest white Burgundy. Production levels are – as you would expect – miniscule, given that there are only 0.0821 hectares of Le Montrachet.
5. Domaine Georges & Christophe Roumier – Musigny Grand Cru – Cote de Nuits, France
Average price per bottle: £4,918 (A$8,474.00).
Most expensive vintage 1990, £8,674 (A$14,945.00) per bottle
In 1924, a young man named Georges Roumier married a local Chambolle-Musigny girl, and as a dowry he received a selection of Chambolle Musigny vineyards. From there, Domaine Georges Roumier was born.
Over the years the Roumier family has purchased pockets of various Grand Cru vineyards and now boasts five in total. The star of the show is Musigny; produced on a micro level with only 350-380 bottles produced per year, on average.
6. Domaine de la Romanee-Conti – Montrachet Grand Cru – Cote de Beaune, France
Average price per bottle £4,176 (A$7,194.00).
Most expensive vintage: 1988, £6,073 (A$10,461.00) per bottle
The combination of having the most prestigious estate and arguably the greatest white wine terroir in the world makes DRC a dominate producer in the market. DRC had previously only produced red wine, until 1963 when it secured the first of three plots within Montrachet.
7. Joh. Jos. Prüm – Wehlener Sonnenuhr – Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese – Mosel, Germany
Average price per bottle £3,872 (A$6,670.00).
Most expensive vintage: 1990, £5,701 (A$9,821.00) per bottle
The Prüm family have always had a presence in Wehlen, dating back more than 400 years. Since the 1920s, the family has been regarded as one of the best Riesling producers in Germany. The estate claims 14 acres of vineyards, with more than 70pc of the vines being entirely un-grafted. Production levels are very low and vary depending on vintage, making the wine all the more valuable.
8. Fritz Haag – Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr – Riesling – Trockenbeerenauslese Goldkapsel – Mosel, Germany
Average price per bottle £3,173 (A$5,466.00).
Most expensive vintage: 1971, £3,773 (A$6,502.00) per bottle
The Fritz Haag vineyards are steeped in family history dating back hundreds of years. At the beginning of 2005, Oliver Haag took over the vineyard from his father, Wilhelm – who had taken over from his own father in 1957. Wilhelm only planned to stay for a single harvest, but it developed into a life of wine-growing until the vineyard was handed over to the next generation in 2005.
Only Riesling grapes, which are tended to throughout the year by experienced employees, are to be found in the top locations of the Fritz Haag vineyard and only in the finest years will a vintage be produced.
9.Domaine Leroy – Chambertin Grand Cru – Cote de Nuits, France
Average price per bottle: £3,172 (A$5,466.00).
Most expensive vintage: 1990, £5,512 (A$9,497.00) per bottle
Leroy’s Chambertin is second only to her Musigny. Her annual production is just 16 hectolitres per hectare – whereas the regional norm within Burgundy is closer to 40. Production levels for Chambertin are estimated to be between 750 and 900 bottles per year in most vintages.
With her global cache increasing year on year, it is not surprising to see Madame Leroy feature three times in the top 10 list.
10, Domaine Leroy – Richebourg Grand Cru – Cote de Nuits, France
Average price per bottle £2,838 (A$4,890.00).
Most expensive vintage: 1949, £4,382 (A$7,550.00) per bottle
Leroy currently owns two separate plots within Richebourg; one larger plot in the northern part of the vineyard on the border to Les Verroilles ou Richebourg, and another positioned between DRC and Mongeard-Mugneret.
Leroy acquired these plots early in 1988 when it bought the Charles Noellat estate. In total, Leroy owns 0.78 hectare within Richebourg
EAT YOUR HEART OUT GRANGE!
A Coravin opener stops wine from being exposed to air and therefore retains its freshness and character. The system pierces the cork (or via a special screw top) with a thin hollow needle. You press a trigger which forces the wine out through the needle into your glass and at the same time replaces it with argon gas.
I was fortunate to taste a bottle of the 1986 Mt Pleasant Elizabeth semillon after McWilliams discovered some cases during a change of warehouses.
