Chateau Lafite 1787
The
world's most expensive wine ever sold is
Chateau Lafite 1787
but not just any
Chateau Lafite 1787. Thomas Jefferson bought this particular
bottle in France and etched his initials on it (below "Lafitte").
Some 200 years later,
this bottle of Jefferson's
Chateau Lafite 1787 sold in 1985 in London for $156,000, for collection of course, since even
the finest wines turn into vinegar after a few decades.
Along with his 1787 Chateau Lafite, Thomas Jefferson also bought
the
1787 Chateau Margaux, which has the distinction of being the most
expensive bottle NOT sold.
In 1989, a waiter at an oenophile gathering in
New York City accidentally knocked over and broke a bottle of
1787 Chateau Margaux,
obliging the wine's insurer to pay $225,000 for the 75cl of vinegar.
The price of drinkable wine depends on many factors but the amount of sunshine
plays a large role in determining its quality, which in turn drives its price.
In Europe, 2000, 2005, 2009 and 2015 were very sunny recent years that rewarded many
chateaux with wonderful vintages, as was 1787 apparently, for
Chateau Lafite.
The price of wine also depends on the market conditions (the fine wine market crashed in 2001 after a bubble but has
since recovered) and of course the name of the
chateau.
There once was a time when French
chateaux dominated the world's
fine wines, and
Premiers Crus or
Grands Crus like
Petrus of Pomerol,
Cheval Blanc
of Saint-Emilion,
Lafite of Pauillac,
Romanee-Conti
of Bourgogne and
Yquem of Sauterne still live up to their
lofty reputations.
But the French
appellation hasn't changed
in over two
centuries while many of the world's other producers have. Some
Grands Crus ceased being grand, retained their classification only by
tradition and now face stiff competition from newcomers, including from Chile, Australia and
the United States.
The most expensive drinkable wine ever
sold is the
Romanee-Conti 1978, which fetched $24,000 a bottle
at an auction in New York City only 23 years later, in 2001.
So, how much should you spend on fine wine?