the estate was under the ownership of Baron James de Rothschild . For many reasons it was , therefore , one of the most iconic wines in the world – and with a story to go with it .
Heidsieck ( 1907 ) – This champagne was destined for the Imperial Court of Tsar Nicholas II , the last Tsar of Russia , and was travelling on board a Swedish freighter in 1916 when it was torpedoed and sunk by a German U - boat off the coast of Finland during WW I . The ship , and its cargo , were lost to the bottom of the Baltic Sea .
The wreckage was subsequently rediscovered a little more than 80 years later in 1998 , some 63 metres or so below the surface . On board some 20,000 bottles of the sparkling wine were discovered . For more than 80 years the wine had remained undisturbed at the bottom of the sea , at six atmospheres of pressure , in near freezing temperatures and in darkness – the perfect resting place and storage conditions for champagne !
And so it was that what became known as the famous 1907 Heidsieck & Co . Monopole Diamant Bleu “ Shipwrecked ” Champagne came back into the world from the bottom of the sea . With its condition and historical significance , the bottles were sold off at numerous auctions , for various sums , but with one bottle fetching a whopping $ 275,000 . Not a bad find at the bottom of the sea .
Château Margaux & Château Lafite ( 1787 ) - These bottles of wine were purportedly two of the famous ‘ Jefferson bottles ’. The third President of the United states , Thomas Jefferson , was not only the primary author of the ‘ Declaration of Independence ’ but was known as one of the countries great , and probably first , wine connoisseurs . He was an avid oenophile and a wine collector of repute . When he was ambassador to France , and living in the country , he spent much of his time visiting the vineyards of Bordeaux and Burgundy and , upon his return to America , continued to order large quantities of Bordeaux wines for himself and for George Washington . He apparently stipulated that their respective shipments should be marked with their initials .
In the 1980 ’ s a number of wines were reportedly discovered behind a bricked-up cellar wall in an old building in Paris . On the bottles were found the names of a number of the most famous Bordeaux Châteaux - ‘ Lafitte ’, ‘ D ’ Yquem , ‘ Mouton ’ and ‘ Margaux ’. The bottles were all etched with , and bore , the initials “ Th . J .”
In 1989 an American wine merchant was asked to try and sell one of the infamous ‘ Jefferson bottles ’; the 1787 Château Margaux . He had apparently been trying to sell it for in excess of some $ 500,000 but , having not sold it , took it to a Margaux wine tasting at the Four Seasons restaurant in New York ( presumably to see if there was any interest ). During the evening the bottle was accidentally smashed . Fortunately , it was insured . The insurance pay out was $ 225,000 . This wine was never actually , therefore , sold at all . However , another of the alleged collection of ‘ Jefferson bottles ’ that was sold at auction , at Christie ’ s in London in December 1985 , was the 1787 Jefferson ‘ Laffite ’. The hammer came down at £ 105,000 ( apparently the bidding started at £ 10,000 ).
Château d ' Yquem ( 1811 ) - This wine holds the record for being the most expensive white wine ever sold . It was purchased in 2011 by a French wine connoisseur , and private collector , for $ 117,000 . It was then put on display in his restaurant , behind bullet proof glass , in Bali ( although he did say he intended to drink it at some stage ).
Château d ’ Yquem is the world ’ s greatest , most esteemed , most famous and most highly sought after sweet wine and has the capacity to age for ever . It sits at the top of a hill near Sauternes in Bordeaux . As those film buffs amongst you may remember it is one of the delicacies enjoyed by Hannibal Lecter in the Thomas Harris novels . From a historic point of view the 1811 d ’ Yquem was made during the Napoleonic wars and in the year of the great comet . It is renowned as the most famous of the ‘ comet vintages ’ ( years in which an astronomic event has occurred before harvest ). It was also only produced in small quantities . Ten barrels only were produced – equating to some 3,000 bottles .
Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon ( 1992 ) - Perhaps slightly different for many reasons , but nonetheless worthy of mention . Charity is a place where expensive wines can become even more expensive . The annual Auction Napa Valley is often such a place and not infrequently sees records being smashed . So it was with this wine . No particular history , a fairly young wine , but an iconic wine from one of North America ’ s most iconic wineries purchased for charity . This Imperial ( six litre bottle ) fetched $ 500,000 .
Those of you who read this magazine regularly will know that when I talk about individual wines , I will invariably add a tasting note . Such tasting notes are always based on my own tasting of the wine in question . Alas , this month there are no tasting notes . I have never tasted any of the wines that feature in this month ’ s article and , sadly , am never likely to .
So why is it that some wines fetch such huge sums of money ? What makes the world ' s most expensive wines so expensive ? The first thing to say is that expensive wines normally cost more to make than inexpensive wines . Yet this cannot come close to explaining the discrepancy between that which it costs to produce a wine and the amount that someone is willing to pay for it .
The truth is that there are a number of factors that play a part in explaining this discrepancy . Firstly prestige . It is no surprise to find that all of the worlds most expensive wines come from the most prestigious producers and vineyards in the world . Secondly scarcity , rarity and collect-ability . Like anything else – if there aren ’ t many about and you are a collector ; you want it . Of course age plays a factor here to – the older the wine , the less there will be around . Thirdly , history or something that perhaps makes the wine a novelty in some way ( the ‘ shipwrecked ’ Hiedsieck and the ‘ Jefferson bottles ’ perhaps being the prime examples of how this factor can drive prices up ). Fourthly provenance . This can really drive price up and it is not unusual in the wine world to see big sums paid for prestigious wines with perfect provenance . Fifthly , and perhaps most importantly , you have to have someone who has the money to spend . It seems that there are plenty of such people out there . Ultimately a bottle of wine is as expensive as the amount someone is willing to pay for it - so I suppose exactly the same as with many other luxury and highly sought after commodities like fine art , vintage cars and antiques .
How long will it be before a bottle of wine fetches $ 1,000,000 ? Who knows ; but it seems highly possible that it will happen at some stage in the future . What we do know , however , is that really prestigious wines continue to sell for higher and higher prices . I suspect , one way or another , that the ‘ sky ’ really is the limit . wirrallife . com 29