A bottle of French wine from 1945 was sold for $812,500, around 705,000 euros, at an auction in New York, surpassing all previous records and surprising collectors and wine lovers around the world.
According to , it is a bottle of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, considered one of the rarest and most valuable in the world. The sale surpassed the previous record of US$558,000, achieved in 2018, showing the growing appreciation of these historic wines.
The auction was organized by Acker, the world’s largest fine wine auction house and the oldest wine merchant in the United States, and took place as part of La Paulée, a prestigious event bringing together Burgundy producers and collectors. According to the auction house, the 1945 Romanée-Conti represents the last vintage before the replanting of the domaine’s oldest vineyards, grapes that have survived phylloxera, two world wars and almost a century of history.
These bottles are produced in extremely limited quantities and, therefore, their scarcity gives them a high value on the collectors’ market. According to the same source, many connoisseurs believe that pre-phylloxera vines give the wine a unique depth and complexity, making it a target of investment and fascination.
John Kapon, president of Acker, described the experience of tasting this wine as unique, stating that the 1945 Romanée-Conti is, in his opinion, the best wine he has ever tasted. This weekend’s auction was highlighted by multiple record sales, reflecting the growing demand for prestige wines at the highest end of the market. The occasion brought together producers and collectors from around the world and created the perfect context for this historic transaction.
The bottle sold belonged to the cellar of Robert Drouhin, considered one of the most revered names in Burgundy, giving it even more prestige and value. According to Acker, this provenance, rarity and status as the last vintage before the vineyards were replanted made this example one of the most notable sales of the year.
More expensive than an apartment in Lisbon
The sum paid for this bottle exceeds the average price of a 3-bedroom apartment in the city of Lisbon. Recent analyzes by real estate agencies reveal that the purchase of an apartment with these characteristics in the municipality of the Portuguese capital varies between 500 thousand and 800 thousand euros.
This means that the bottle buyer spent more on a single example of wine than on a three-bedroom house in one of the most expensive cities in Portugal, according to Le Figaro.
The record for this bottle from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti reinforces the trend towards valuing historical wines and highlights the cultural and economic dimension of collecting in the most exclusive segment of the market.
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