The most expensive wine in the world right now is Henri Jayer’s Richbourg Grand Cru, selling at €13,500 for a 75cl bottle.

Recent studies have shown that the most expensive wine in the world is Henri Jayer’s Richbourg Grand Cru, with an average price for an average vintage and one normal 75cl bottle at €13,500!

The research was carried out by a web search engine called wine-searcher .com which, surprisingly to most wine enthusiasts, demoted Domaine de la Romanée Conti, also from Burgundy, to second place at €12,000. Third place went to another Jayer wine, Vosne Romanée Cros Parantoux, at nearly €8,000 a bottle.

Not surprisingly, the same research found that seven out of the top 10 most expensive wines in the world are from Burgundy and 40 out of the top 50 wines are also from Burgundy.

That makes the average top wines from Burgundy six or seven times more than the average price of a top Bordeaux, which by comparison are a steal. Consider, for example, that Petrus and Ausone are ‘only’ around €2,000. That makes top Tuscan wines like Ornellaia and Masseto at around €400 a poor man’s wine.

Whenever the subject of these really expensive wines comes up, I am often asked two things: why are they so expensive and are they worth it? I have never tasted Jayer but I have tasted Romanée Conti (Romanée itself, La Tache and Echezeaux) on a number of occasions. I’ve tasted the best of Bordeaux on various occasions too.

These really super expensive wines are now simply luxury items and I personally find it hard to associate all that I love about wine with them

There is no doubt that these are special wines that come with real breed, taste and structure. They’re in a way unique wines that have huge ageing potential and are the result of a combination of magical factors, both natural and human.

For many years they have gained respect and reputation, which in turn created a demand that surpasses their availability. In fact, it is this demand that has the biggest effect on price.

Just consider that only around 3,500 bottles of Romanée Conti are produced. Even less at Jayer. Generally, in Bordeaux, the production is higher. For example, Ausone produces around 18,000 bottles. But Chateau Latour produces considerably more with around 200,000 bottles. This may explain the huge difference in the price of the wines respectively.

Also to be taken in consideration is the fact that the prices mentioned above are for relatively young vintages. Prices go dramatically upwards for older vintages, as with time availability of these wines in bottle becomes even rarer.

So, what about the taste? Does a €5,000 bottle taste 100 times better than a €50 one? Does it give you that much more pleasure? In my opinion, it does not.

I remember 20 years ago Petrus 1990 cost around €70. Of course, it was still a lot of money but, for most wine lovers, it was affordable on special occasions. It was just a small extravagance. Today, the same wine costs around €4,000, while a young Petrus would cost about €900, a luxury few can afford.

A very wealthy French friend of mine, who is well accustomed to drinking this sort of wine, recently told me that in the past he found a balance between the price of special wine and the price of less special stuff.

“Today they want to take the shirt I am wearing,” he said.

My own view is that these really super expensive wines are now simply luxury items and I personally find it hard to associate all that I love about wine with them… even more so because of my involvement as a consultant to a company that supplies wine to superyachts in the Mediterranean where a not-so-small percentage of these wines end up.

Let me put you in the picture. One captain on one such boat would rather fly in tomatoes from London than buy really, ripe, beautiful, red, sun-filled local ones.

I follow the principle that a European wine cannot possibly be much good if it retails less than €7/€8, unless it has fallen out of a back of a lorry or is on some kind of offer. At €15/€18, you can start getting into wines with a special character and great wines at around €35/€40. From then on, the game rules change.

A wine at €40 could possibly give you twice as much as a €20 one. A wine selling at €60 maybe would give you three times more but beyond that, the differences become smaller and the higher quality is more difficult to appreciate.

However, it is those minimal differences that make wines great, and gives them their individuality, identity and recognisabilty.

It is this that fires the passion in the most serious, dedicated wine lovers. Shame, most of us, less and less, can afford them!

mike@michaeltabone.com