World’s most expensive bottle of wine sold for $812K at auction

Cheers … to your wealth.

Last weekend, a single bottle of 1945 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti sold for a jaw-dropping $812,500 at the annual La Paulée auction for Acker, the world’s largest fine wine auction house and America’s oldest wine merchant, on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

According to Forbes, this sale broke the former world record for the most expensive bottle sold at auction, which had been set by a bottle of the same beverage in 2018 and which sold for $558,000 — marking a nearly 50% increase.

A representative from Acker said in a statement that this pretty penny of a purchase “cement(s) the 1945 vintage as the most coveted bottle in the history of wine collecting.”

“We made history this weekend,” John Kapon, chairman of Acker, said in a statement that was shared with Business Wire. “I’ve had the privilege of tasting the 1945 Romanée-Conti just three times in my life, and it is the greatest wine I’ve ever tasted …This weekend’s event exemplified the soul and spirit of Burgundy, bringing together the world’s top producers and collectors and creating the perfect conditions for a truly historic result.”

While Acker would not disclose who purchased the bottle, the merchant did share that the vino was initially sourced from the personal cellar of Robert Drouhin — one of the most noted names in Burgundy who ran the French wine house Maison Joseph Drouhin for nearly half a century.

This particular wine is a standout due to it being the last wine made before Romanée-Conti replanted its oldest vines, which had survived both world wars. The vineyard only produces red wine — mainly from the pinot noir grape — and makes between 5,000 and 6,000 bottles annually, though only around 600 were of this 1945 variety.

This wine is also known for falling into the category of pre-phylloxera, which means the grapes were sourced from vines that weren’t designed to be resistant to phylloxera — an insect known for demolishing a large portion of vineyards in Europe during the late 19th century. Experts laud this wine for having an “unmatched” depth and complexity.