The Auswine Forum

I read this online, and thought worth sharing:

What are the most ridiculously over-priced wines in the world?

Burgundy is responsible for the most expensive, most sought after, avariciously collected wines known to mankind.
Why?

Microscopic production, insatiable demand = stratospheric increases in prices over the past decade. It means just 1-2 wealthy buyers snapping everything up can exponentially move the market - that’s what counterfeiter Rudy Kurniawan did a decade ago.

Names listed below all had massive price increases in the last 3 years, and secondary market pricing is barely above retail.
As someone who has tracked global wine prices for 20 years, I wouldn’t buy any of them for drinking or flipping or investment purposes.

Current producers:
Ponsot (inconsistent)
Clos de Tart (50% price rise in 2022)
Liber Pater ($50k Bdx, minimal track record)
Domaine des Lambrays (LVMH) - price +100% in 2022
Arnaud Ente (Village wines $2k, 1er Cru for $6k haha)
Liger-Belair (price anchoring to DRC but inferior quality)
d’Auvenay (Leroy) - pretty much nothing <$10k a bottle now
Salon champagne ($400 a bottle few years ago but now $3,500? WTF!)
Leroy (great wines but $50k for Chambertin + $90k PER BOTTLE for Musigny?)
Bizot (fave of crazy rich atm on InstaTok; 2nd tier producer with 1st tier pricing)
Sylvain Cathiard - 50% price increase in 2022; RSV now priced above DRC version
Arnoux-Lachaux (formerly mediocre producer Robert Arnoux with now eye-watering prices)
Prieuré Roch (75% of the wines I've drank were funky + literally undrinkable despite the DRC link)

When you can now pay $1k to $4k per bottle for a basic Village burgundy (or more than a 1st growth Bordeaux) that sold for less than $100 a decade ago, you know the market is totally nuts.

And I’m not sure who the hell is paying $1,500 for a bottle of Arnoux-Lachaux Bourgogne Aligoté Les Champs d'Argent! (Aligoté is a cheap grape varietal of little distinction used to scrape paint off walls).

Insanity.

For a great laugh, if it weren’t so tone deaf and even offensive, hop on over to WineBerserkers forum and see rich boys debating whether an ordinary US$500 village wine or US$1000 1er Cru is now a relative bargain in Burgundy (!)

When peeps talk about a Burgundy bubble, it is these highly speculative producers most likely to fall.

Not the 'blue chip trophy producers with impeccable track records of brilliance (the Best of the Best) – DRC, Rousseau, Roumier, Mugnier, Coche-Dury & Raveneau.

Also, silly price inflation now happening with trophy Rhône wines:
Rayas (auction prices 5x retail)
Jamet
Gonon
Verset
Voge
Allemand

Makes classic Rhône wines like Chave, LaLas and Jaboulet La Chapelle look like absolute bargains!

Well, it's not Burgundy, but I offer this local example:

2015 Bonics Estate Shiraz - Australia, New South Wales (13/10/2021)
NobleRottersSydney - New South Wales (Fix, St James, Sydney): {screwcap, 13%} [DavidH] According to the label, this hails from Jerilderie. When David said it cost $720, it seemed obvious to me that he’d mistakenly quoted the case price. But, no. With a startling mix of hubris, naivety, ambition and effrontery, the winery does indeed offer this at $720 a bottle. They’ve apparently been around since the 70s (unknown to me) and have invented their own harvester (not just hand-picking, then?), according to their very earnest and quaintly-worded website. But the proof is in the bottle, as ever. Slightly developing nose of ripe, black fruits, liquorice. Smells dense, it that’s possible. The palate is striking for its lack of acidity; medium/high powdery tannins and roasted red grapes can’t really make up for that structural flaw, as I see it. Medium/full weight, but the finish is far too short for any wine with a three-figure price tag. As a wine, it’s OK, nothing too special; I just can’t get over the jaw-dropping price, nor stop it affecting my judgement somehow! A nice enough wine if someone gives it too you – but not one you’d buy yourself!

But it seems nearly every 'classic' wine is stratospherically priced these days, whether it's Burg, Bdx, Rhone, Supertuscans, Vega or new world exemplars from Napa or all these halucinogenic Penfolds blends. Does anyone drink them all, or do they just sit in a warehouse somewhere?

Thanks Matt, an interesting read, I won't bite at the moment, but someone out there might
A little vineyard/winery with a church is a contender

Cheers Craig

Yes, there's lots of expensive stuff out there. But I've just being going through MW's offerings in the latest auction, plenty of aged Burgundy and lesser growth Bdx for not too outrageous prices, ok, I'm not talking Rousseau, but enough interesting stuff.

Trouble being, if you have those wines in the cellar and you know then well enough, it really makes it hard to drink them. Because they are not worth the money. There’s so much innovation, technology and passion in the wine industry the word over, beautiful drinking is quite simply found. Albeit not as cheap as many would hope for. You still have to pay a bit.

Plenty of candidates, and we wine enthusiasts can be part of the problem if we seek out the 'benchmark / lauded' producers in a region, as we can fuel the process that takes a fine producer offering fair or even good value, up through the price bands until it's a dreadfully overpriced unicorn.

I’m amazed at how some of the Burg producers have shot up in price. Used to pick up Bizot at auction a few years ago for cheap, recall the labels looked like they had been printed on a home inkjet printer!

Checking my records, bought bottles of Vosne-Romanee from auction for $34.50 back in 2009.

2019 vintage on sale at Wine Culture for $5,619.00!!

Burgundy makes no sense. I’ll sell what’s in my cellar I reckon. It just doesn’t deliver for me consistently enough and I’ve been fortunate to try many of the best from generous Burgundy collectors in Hong Kong. I wonder if they will still be so generous now?

2022 Ch. Lafite @ $1500 per bottle LUC ( and still in wood ) - still to have re-sellers margin and GST to be added.

While I think Dom Perignon can easily qualify as the the best wine produced in the world - who ales makes so many bottles of wine at that level of quality - there are other champagnes out there that can qualify in ‘ridiculously over-priced’. Ace of Spades was the first that came to mind, but I am sure there are many more.

Any of the Cullens reds

WineRick wrote: ↑Sun Jun 18, 2023 2:04 pm 2022 Ch. Lafite @ $1500 per bottle LUC ( and still in wood ) - still to have re-sellers margin and GST to be added.

Have to disagree with this one - probably the most famous Bordeaux, with an enormous track record. In demand in probably every country with wine drinkers.

Well-affordable to the rich, and actually has the history to justify, unlike a lot of other wines/wineries. While I can’t afford, I think the price is fair enough.

tarija wrote: ↑Tue Jun 20, 2023 12:13 pm

WineRick wrote: ↑Sun Jun 18, 2023 2:04 pm 2022 Ch. Lafite @ $1500 per bottle LUC ( and still in wood ) - still to have re-sellers margin and GST to be added.

Have to disagree with this one - probably the most famous Bordeaux, with an enormous track record. In demand in probably every country with wine drinkers.

Well-affordable to the rich, and actually has the history to justify, unlike a lot of other wines/wineries. While I can’t afford, I think the price is fair enough.

But they make so much of the stuff, unlike Burgundy and premium Champagnes.

of that list, and I have had examples of all of them, Bizot is by far, the length of the Flemington straight, the most bizarre.
how did it happen? The bright marketing young lad from the Domaine paid a Chinese influencer quite a deal to spread across social media how incredible the wines are... a modern day king with no clothes.
It's not a second-tier producer, it's not even a third or fourth tier member. The wines are simple, often bretty and puzzling to say the least.
They are being snapped up by Chinese billionaires in a show of face, and, increasingly, by investors looking to sell the wines to said face-showers.

Liger-Belair comes second in my book, simply head-scratching pricing that the label drinkers snap up. The eternally red-panted Comte has an ego as bloated as his prices.

I have had Liber Pater in both colours, and that is stunningly, outrageously over-priced, so it only comes in third to the above two.

It's a great list, I wouldn't go within a bulls roar of any of them.

Australia has itself many examples, although nowhere near the extremes of the wines mentioned above.

Mike Hawkins wrote: ↑Mon Jun 19, 2023 1:43 am Any of the Cullens reds

Back in the day, the Mangan red was decent value - has that also escalated in price well beyond value?


.....and frankly reliability, which seems to be the issue with Cullen these days. When they said they were aiming to be more Burgundian, I didn't realise that meant more white burgundian

So what’s the most expensive fairly priced wine out there ?

Last time I saw the C&B brochure, Romanee Conti was £3000 a bottle in bond. I’d pay that for a bottle.

Egon Muller TBA Goes for £7500+ I believe. Out of my league, but given the name and the tiny production, I don’t think it’s ripping people off.

From Auz, I have less of an issue with the price of HoG than any of the other super expensive reds. I’m not going to pay the money, but it’s the only 1 I would consider.

Most expensive fairly priced wine?
I suspect it should be a dessert or fortified wine, given the effort required and/or extended time before its released. My vote would go to Avignonesi's Vin Santo, supremely intense and complex. €150+ for a half bottle, but I see they are now selling it in 10cl mini bottles, which makes it sort of affordable... and you really need just a sip to appreciate it.

Ian S wrote: ↑Thu Jun 29, 2023 6:00 am

Mike Hawkins wrote: ↑Mon Jun 19, 2023 1:43 am Any of the Cullens reds

Back in the day, the Mangan red was decent value - has that also escalated in price well beyond value?


.....and frankly reliability, which seems to be the issue with Cullen these days. When they said they were aiming to be more Burgundian, I didn't realise that meant more white burgundian

Tasting note from a group tasting a week ago: Cullen ‘Mangan’ 2016 (Margaret River. W.A.): A blend of Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. Initially, some port-dipped cigars on the nose, followed by black plums and dark berries. Ripe black juicy fruits open the palate, alongside black olive. Tannins are integrated, and acid plays a modest supporting role. However, the wine was flat in the glass after less than 10 minutes. Something’s not right.

Personally, I've never been a fan of the Mangan. The Chardonnay is consistently excellent, however.

It's so frustrating, but as you say, the Chardonnay seems to have avoided the woes that seem to bedevil their reds these days. I still fondly remember a magnum of the 1997

GraemeG wrote: ↑Thu Jun 15, 2023 3:33 pm Well, it's not Burgundy, but I offer this local example:

2015 Bonics Estate Shiraz - Australia, New South Wales (13/10/2021)
NobleRottersSydney - New South Wales (Fix, St James, Sydney): {screwcap, 13%} [DavidH] According to the label, this hails from Jerilderie. When David said it cost $720,

Website now says $928

mychurch wrote: ↑Thu Jun 29, 2023 8:43 am Last time I saw the C&B brochure, Romanee Conti was £3000 a bottle in bond. I’d pay that for a bottle.

It's well over 6,500 Euros now.

And what about the good old Penfolds Ampoule, Block 42 Kalimna Cabernet no less. Released at $168,000 in 2012, wine searcher tells me it is now worth $236,514. Looks like we all should have bought one instead of bank shares! Ok, well maybe not that great an investment, but still!

George and Crowe Yarra Yering one off magnum 200 made and 40 went on the first day...glad I was sitting down. 3 times my estimate $1500... Sheesh . The owners must be doing it tough
Cheers Craig

any wine over a hundred bucks!

Scotty vino wrote: ↑Sat Jul 15, 2023 1:53 pm any wine over a hundred bucks!

I like that!

Come to think of it, one hundred is the most I've spent on a bottle of wine. Two come to mind, a d'Yquem many years ago and somewhat recently a magnum of Cantenac Brown.

Has anyone else noticed the continuously high prices being bid on the Woodlands Chloe Chardonnay on Langtons?
Someone's got the hots for that wine!

Any wine I REALLY want, but can't afford! :--)

At about $1100 AUD a bottle, Armand de Brignac Ace Of Spades Blanc de Blancs champagne!

I drank copious amounts of it last weekend and compared it to a few other Champagnes and it was underwhelming. Maybe it’s supposed to be had with cocaine? Rapper and gangster Champagne.

JamieAdelaide wrote: ↑Tue Sep 05, 2023 5:33 pm At about $1100 AUD a bottle, Armand de Brignac Ace Of Spades Blanc de Blancs champagne!

I drank copious amounts of it last weekend and compared it to a few other Champagnes and it was underwhelming. Maybe it’s supposed to be had with cocaine? Rapper and gangster Champagne.

Yes it is a very average champagne, and at that price you could have so many excellent champagnes!

Yes we were drinking the Pewter bottles. Must be their top one? Also comes in gold and green bottles for a fair bit less. The green must be for discos and nightclubs? It’s so absurdly priced versus quality it makes me feel poor.