Most Expensive Wine Bottles Ever Sold

Wine auctions and private sales have produced some of the most remarkable prices ever paid for a single bottle, with collectors and investors driving values to new heights. The most expensive wine bottle ever sold is the Champagne Avenue Foch 2017 magnum, which fetched $2.5 million in July 2022. This sale was unique because the bottle came with digital artwork from the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection and five NFTs, making it a hybrid collectible of both physical wine and digital assets. The transaction was organized by entrepreneur Shammi Shinh and took place through a private NFT marketplace, with two Italian investors acquiring the bottle.

In November 2021, a six-liter imperial bottle of The Setting Wines 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon sold for $1 million at the Carnivale du Vin charity auction in New Orleans. This Napa Valley wine, crafted by winemaker Jesse Katz, was the only large-format bottle produced from that vintage. Its rarity and the charitable context of the sale contributed to its record-breaking price.

Another notable sale occurred in May 2021 when a bottle of Château Petrus 2000 that had spent 14 months aboard the International Space Station was sold privately by Christie’s in London for about $1 million. The “space-aged” wine came with a regular bottle of Petrus 2000 for comparison, custom glasses, and a corkscrew made from a meteorite. The novelty of space aging and Petrus’s reputation as one of Bordeaux’s finest wines made this sale exceptional.

The world of Burgundy saw its own records set in October 2018 at Sotheby’s New York, where two bottles of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 1945 sold for $558,000 and $496,000 respectively. These bottles came from the personal cellar of Robert Drouhin and were among only 600 produced before the vineyard’s pre-phylloxera vines were uprooted. Their provenance and rarity made them highly sought after by collectors.

California’s Screaming Eagle winery entered the record books in June 2000 when a six-liter bottle of its inaugural 1992 Cabernet Sauvignon sold for $500,000 at the Napa Valley Wine Auction. The wine had received near-perfect critical scores and was already considered a cult classic. The winning bid was placed during a charity event, further boosting its value.

Large-format bottles have also commanded high prices in Bordeaux. In February 2007, a Jeroboam (4.5 liters) of Château Mouton-Rothschild 1945 sold for $310,700 at Sotheby’s New York. Only 24 Jeroboams were produced that year, which marked the end of World War II and featured an iconic “V for victory” label designed by Philippe Jullian.

In November 2010, an Imperial (6 liters) of Château Cheval Blanc 1947 sold for $304,375 at Christie’s Geneva. This vintage is often called the “wine of the century” due to its exceptional quality and rarity, especially in large formats.

One of the most unusual stories involves a bottle of Heidsieck Monopole 1907 Champagne recovered from a shipwreck in the Baltic Sea. In 1998, one such bottle sold for $275,000 at an auction in Moscow after being salvaged from a Swedish freighter sunk during World War I. The Champagne had been preserved underwater for over 80 years and was reportedly still drinkable due to its high sugar content.

Château Lafite-Rothschild has also seen historic prices at auction. In October 2010 at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, three bottles of Lafite-Rothschild 1869 each sold for about $233,973—far above their pre-sale estimates—driven by intense demand from Asian collectors. This vintage was significant as it was the first produced under Rothschild family ownership.

Before these modern records, one legendary sale stood out: a bottle of Château Lafite from 1787 believed to have belonged to Thomas Jefferson sold for about $156,000 at Christie’s London in 1985. Etched with Jefferson’s initials, this bottle became famous as much for its story as its age or drinkability. Although later questions arose about its authenticity, it set a benchmark for what collectors would pay for historical provenance.

Other notable sales include an 1811 Château d’Yquem white wine that fetched $117,000 in 2011 and another Jefferson-linked bottle—a 1787 Château d’Yquem—sold for $100,000 in 2006.

These record-breaking sales highlight how rarity, provenance, historical significance, critical acclaim, and sometimes even novelty or charity can combine to drive wine prices to extraordinary levels. Auction houses like Sotheby’s and Christie’s continue to play central roles in these transactions, while private sales increasingly involve new elements such as digital assets or scientific experiments that add further intrigue to the world’s most expensive wines.

Top 10 Record-Breaking Wine Bottle Sales (All-Time)

(Only single bottles are listed; prices are as paid at the time of sale, without inflation adjustment.)