What is the Most You've Ever Paid for a Bottle of Wine?

[Mahmoud Ali]

A couple of weeks ago I was at a birthday bash that was held in a pub. It was a weekend night with a band playing. I decided it would be best if we took the bus instead of driving. Just after arriving I decided to check out the store across the road from the pub. There, a few bottles of Tio Pepe Fino Sherry that were on sale caught my eye but the one that got my heart to skip a beat was a single bottle that was reduced to $150 a bottle. Yes, a single bottle! Now, despite owning some first, second, and third growth Bordeaux, as well as a bottle of Chateau d'Yquem, I have never spent more than $100 for a bottle of wine, so this $150 bottle presented a dilemma.

Now, I wasn't going to buy anything that evening, even the sherry, because I didn't want to try taking it into a music and dance night at the pub as well as having to carrying it back home on the bus, but I could come back to the wine store the following day. But I didn't, because I knew I would be tempted to buy this stupidly expensive wine. So I waited two weeks, yes, two weeks, before I returned, hoping that some other person would buy it and prevent me from being tempted. But, two weeks later, there it was, the same single bottle, staring at me from the shelf, mocking me, flashing its sale price tag, knowing that it would cost me three times as much to take one of her siblings home from any other store in town.

Ultimately, I succumbed, but not before playing a bit of a mind game. With the five bottles of sherry that were on sale, and the expensive wine in question, I approached the till. If they gave me a discount on the six bottle purchase I decided that I would buy the overpriced wine, otherwise not. Well they did give me the discount didn't they, and I bought it, making it the most expensive single bottle of wine I have ever bought.

For those who are wondering what I bought here is a clue: a purchase of any six will allow you to buy this bottle for $479 at Vintage Cellars and $475 at Dan Murphy's.

What is the most you've ever paid for a bottle of wine?

Mahmoud.

[Craig(NZ)]

I used to fairly regularly spend over $100 on bottles of wine as some of the NZ classics I have bought for a couple of decades slipped over that mark. This is something I have identified, and targeted to put a stop to completely this year with the help of poorer vintages hitting the market. A number of labels have dropped off the shopping list. Alas, I am technically failing miserably against my target because of one multiple purchases of a single "must have in quantity" wine. Aside from that I am actually doing great I am enjoying focusing on $25-45 stuff

Over $200 is an extremely rare playground and likely a place I will never frequent again - top tier Bordeaux and Grange from the "cheaper" days. I have purchased in my life probably five wines in the $300-550 range - All top tier Bordeaux from good vintages.

It's cheaper than racing cars I tell my wife

[felixp21]

In my younger and more stupid days, I purchased a double magnum of 1989 La Mission Haut Brion for the equivalent of AUD $1350, back in about 2006-07.
Looks like a bargain now, lol. Intend to drink it in 2029, will be my oldest child's 40th birthday.

In 2012, purchased a double magnum of 2010 de Montille VR Malconsorts at release in HK for about AUD $1000, at the same time a magnum of 2005 Ponsot Clos de la Roche VV for about the same, I think.

From memory, they are my most expensive purchases, and certainly wouldn't bother doing that now.

I guess more importantly, I have heaps of wines that are now worth over $1000, although purchased for a fraction of that price. Some are worth up to $5000 (96 and 99 Rousseau Chambertin), which leaves me in a dilemma, as these non-sentimental wines should prolly go off to auction. Includes the likes of Rene Engel stuff, Fourrier's CSJ and Griottes, and some other high-end Burgs from the 90's. For me, at least, I can't really feel good about drinking wines I know are worth that amount (no wine is, IMO)
Trouble is, the more I wait, the higher the price.... Burgundy prices are in LaLa land now

[Dragzworthy]

Mouton Rothschild 2015...it was a lot!
Birth year wine though...kinda figured when is there ever a better time to splurge? Will drink it with the son in his 21st or 30th or something

[mychurch]

2016 Grivot Richbourg cost me €995 last year, so $1600. I can applaud myself for getting such a bargain, as I saw it advertised in Melbourne for $2500. Stupid money I know, but the same importer gives me 3 good bottles of Rousseau and these are all worth more than the Grivot, although they cost a lot less. Personally i’d Rather have a few great bottles, rather than cases of good ones.

[felixp21]

2016 Grivot Richbourg cost me €995 last year, so $1600. I can applaud myself for getting such a bargain, as I saw it advertised in Melbourne for $2500. Stupid money I know, but the same importer gives me 3 good bottles of Rousseau and these are all worth more than the Grivot, although they cost a lot less. Personally i’d Rather have a few great bottles, rather than cases of good ones.

yes, I agree (in hindsight ) if I were to start again, I'd buy less and buy better.

[Ozzie W]

The most I've ever spent is $430. I won't say what it is because I intend to bring it to one of my wine groups and many of them frequent this forum. I'll spend more on a bottle than I usually would if I intend to share with people who will appreciate it. 78% of the wines in my cellar cost me under $100. 97% cost me less than $200.

[Rossco]

10 Years ago paid around $400 or $500 for a 1979 Grange. Was Clinic certified only a few years
before I purchased it and was great, not life changing however.

Last year bought 2014 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault Premier Cru Gouttes d'or
That was the 2nd most expensive wine I have ever bought.

Im 100% with Ozzie and am more than happy to spend more on a bottle than I usually would if its to be shareed with people who
I know will appreciate it.

[Cactus]

I think it has been the Fay or SLV I bought from Stag's Leap Wine Cellars. US$200 or somethink. Why be pennywise and pound foolish when you have a special day out at Napa with family? Will drink in 15 years or so at a Family Christmas.

I generally have a $100 limit. But I have noticed I am buying a lot more Barolo and Barbaresco and a few over that limit. I fear that that region will explode in price more than my other loves. So want to load up so I can imitate many of you lot talking about your Burgundy and Bordeaux bought at reasonable prices..

[Mahmoud Ali]

It was a Stag's Leap Wine Cellars cabernet that came out on top in Stephen Spurrier's 1976 Judgement of Paris wine tasting where California cabernets were pitted against cru classe Bordeaux. They made a movie about it but the focus of attention was the Chateau Montelena chardonnay.

[Michael McNally]

Great thread!

I started using Cellartracker in mid 2005 (more religiously from 2008). It is fascinating to look back at my purchases from oldest to most recent and see the changes. Initially it was all graysonline and then later vinomofo with cellar door purchases popping up every now and then (hello Marius 2002, 2003, 2004). And from about 2007 it became mostly cellar door purchases. Before about 2010 I didn't buy anything over $50 (apart from one 1944 Para bought at auction for my father's 60th - $78.50).

Most of my 'quality' purchases from that time (up to 2010) are in the $20-30 range with a couple of annual exceptions (WDCE Springflat and Marius Symphony). As the price of some perennials have crept up so has the price range. Now I buy almost no graysonline or vinomofo stuff. Since 2013 when my father died I have said "what the f*#k!" a lost more, but bought less wine and more occasional bottles of $50 and $50+ wine. I get a lot of pleasure in the $30-40 range with the occasional more expensive purchase - eg 2013 Spinifex La Maline at $63 was a steal.

My most expensive wine purchased? A single bottle of 2007 Seppelt Show Reserve Sparkling Red on my birthday last year - $100. Sitting there waiting for the right offline in about 10 years time.

Cheers

Michael

[Ian S]

about £125-130 for a bottle of 1991 Grange, which I guess I'll leave a while yet.

Probably only only one wine priced above that which I have been tempted by a couple of times - Avignonesi's vin santo. It's about that price for a half bottle, but what's in the bottle is astonishing.

[Mahmoud Ali]

Prior to my recent "most expensive" purchase the most I have ever spent was $100. The first was pre-GST when I paid $99.99 for a 1980 Chateau dYquem. By the way, I could have bought (I am slapping my forehead as I write this) either the 1975 or 1983 d'Yquem for $125. Next in line, also at the same price, was a magnum of 2009 Chateau Cantenac Brown, a third growth Margaux, though now we have a 5% GST which took it to $105, technically making it more expensive than the d'Yquem though in my mind the sticker price is what counts.

Nobody has taken a stab at guessing my C$135 purchase (with GST $141.75), most likely because their is no real clue in my initial post. So, here is one: it is French and sparkles.

Mahmoud.

[Mark Carrington]

15 years ago Pétrus ‘81. All these years on still yet to pay more, despite purchasing a Vega Sicilia ‘60, fairly recently.
And one that got away: Romanée-Conti ‘90 for £500, on release. Our children needed feeding & clothing.

[michel]

15 years ago Pétris ‘81. All these years on still yet to pay more, despite purchasing a Vega Sicilia ‘60, fairly recently.
And one that got away: Romanée-Conti ‘90 for £500, on release. Our children needed feeding & clothing.

You made me approach the confessional

2007 DRC Romanee Conti
I held it and realised how much I despise 2007 and sold it at auction and a made a profit of $7000
Gulp

[Ian S]

Nobody has taken a stab at guessing my C$135 purchase (with GST $141.75), most likely because their is no real clue in my initial post. So, here is one: it is French and sparkles.

Mahmoud.

I'm hoping Crystal rather than Ace of Spades

[phillisc]

No DRC stories here, but my own version.
A bottle of 1955 Wynns Michael in 1984 for $180...interestingly 8-9 times the price of a Grange and 55 Michael's when they come up are now around the $5 grand mark...which still see them roughly 8 times the price of a Grange
I drank the Michael about a year after purchase...beautiful at 30 years, but perhaps would have been interesting at 50.

Cheers Craig

[Redav]

For me I picked up two Henschke Cyril Henschke's for $135 and two Mt Edelstone's for $120. They were anniversary year purchases with one consumed within a year of purchase (the Ed is the nicest wine we've had) and the other having a long rest. I'd never consider those prices for a normal purchase, maybe half that for a general limit for nicer bottles.

[Mahmoud Ali]

For me I picked up two Henschke Cyril Henschke's for $135 and two Mt Edelstone's for $120.

Each, or for the pair?

[Redav]

Each, or for the pair?

Each, I'd not batted an eyelid at acquiring more (Mt Ed especially) if it were for the pair

[DJ1980]

Waaay to much and hindsight shows I shouldn't have drank it...

Paid $5000 for the best bottle of 1962 Penfolds Bin 60a I have ever seen.

[Mahmoud Ali]

Nobody has taken a stab at guessing my C$135 purchase (with GST $141.75), most likely because there was no real clue in my initial post. So, here is one: it is French and sparkles.

Mahmoud.

I'm hoping Crystal rather than Ace of Spades

Neither, and god forbid Ace of Spades, a bottle at the table would look gauche. Actually, I probably would prefer a Cristal.

Next hint: it's a rose.

[Con J]

Nobody has taken a stab at guessing my C$135 purchase (with GST $141.75), most likely because there was no real clue in my initial post. So, here is one: it is French and sparkles.

Mahmoud.

I'm hoping Crystal rather than Ace of Spades

Neither, and god forbid Ace of Spades, a bottle at the table would look gauche. Actually, I probably would prefer a Cristal.

Next hint: it's a rose.

Krug Rose..

[Mahmoud Ali]

Bingo!

[Wizz]

Had to think about this one.

I've been over the $A1000 mark for a birth year wine - 67 JJ Prum Auslese Goldkapsel. 67 d'Yquem was a little under, $850 i think.

Other than that, a handful of bottles in my sweet wine collection get near that price, but little else.

[Michael McNally]

Waaay to much and hindsight shows I shouldn't have drank it...

Paid $5000 for the best bottle of 1962 Penfolds Bin 60a I have ever seen.

Why shouldn't you have drunk it?

Just curious, your post could mean a couple of different things.

Cheers

Michael

[catchnrelease]

$550 for a bottle of '06 Grange from retail maybe 5 or so years ago. It will be the only Grange I ever buy.

[DJ1980]

Waaay to much and hindsight shows I shouldn't have drank it...

Paid $5000 for the best bottle of 1962 Penfolds Bin 60a I have ever seen.

Why shouldn't you have drunk it?

Just curious, your post could mean a couple of different things.

Cheers

Michael

While it was an amazing experience, and one I won't forget anytime soon, it cost me $5000... It was never going to live up to the hype or expectations.

Now that I am older (and wiser?) and the wine fetches north of $10,000 I should have held onto it and sold it.

[sjw_11]

I started cataloging my wine right at the start of collecting and imported the Access database into cellar tracker, so I have a reasonable record of my purchases all the way back to the early days of 2003 (when I was 18) (albeit it doesn't capture absolutely EVERY purchase, of course)

According to that, and ignoring restaurant purchases, I have only bought 11 bottles >$100.

1993 Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 707 MAGNUM $201.00 6/15/2004
2012 Yarra Yering Dry Red N°1 MAGNUM $180.00 10/17/2013
2014 Yarra Yering Dry Red N°1 MAGNUM $160.00 12/1/2015
2012 Penfolds Shiraz RWT $129.00 10/16/2014
2013 Tyrrell's Shiraz Vat 9 MAGNUM $125.00 6/1/2014
2017 Tyrrell's Shiraz Vat 9 MAGNUM $120.00 5/10/2018
1996 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon $115.00 4/7/2011
2012 Giaconda Chardonnay $110.00 11/27/2013
2002 Wendouree Shiraz $100.00 5/15/2013
2006 Rockford Shiraz SVS Hoffman $120.00 4/22/2017
2006 Rockford Shiraz SVS Flaxman $120.00 4/22/2017

Actually this is missing one - La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 980 2005 ... can't remember what I paid at the CD, but logically over $100 Aussie.

[felixp21]

hey Sam, not sure about the date of the 1993 707 purchase, unless it was some sort of EP deal. It was certainly not released by then!!