(1)$43,500 – 1775 Sherry from Massandra Collection
Bottled in the Crimea and prized by Russian Czars, the oldest Western European sherry was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in 2001. The rarest bottles of the sherry bear an imperial seal.
(2)$80,000 – 1992 Screaming Eagle.
Purple-colored at the rim, the 1992 Screaming Eagle is one of Napa Valley’s most buzzed-about wines, which was awarded 99 points out of a possible 100 by American wine guru, Robert Parker. The Cabernet Sauvignon is intense, rich and creamy with elegant fruity flavours that linger in the mouth.
(3)$160,000 – Chateau Lafite 1787.
The 1787 Chateau Lafite is probably not prized for its flavour and in fact, it is unlikely to be drinkable. But the
bottle nevertheless fetched $160,000 in a New York auction because of the initials etched into the glass. Th.J. Its rumored owner, once president Thomas Jefferson, is said to have bought the bottle overseas while serving as ambassador to France.
(4)$275,000 – Shipwrecked 1907 Heidsieck & Co. Monopole Champagne.
Cases of the bubbly were bound for Czar Nicholas II of Russia, but were lost in 1917 after a German submarine torpedoed its transport during WWI. In 1998, 2,000 bottles were salvaged from the bottom of the Gulf of Finland and now sell for record prices.
(5)€972,000 – 1945 Château Mouton-Rothschild.
Hailed as a “true miracle” in winemaking, the 1945 Mouton-Rothschild was harvested in ideal climate conditions and perfectly bottled. A deep, blackcurrant flavour that’s astoundingly concentrated. An anonymous buyer snatched up a Jeroboam for over £75,000 at a Christie’s auction in 1997.
