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Most Expensive Wines

Most Expensive Fine Wines in 2022

Discover what can make a red, white, Champagne, or dessert wine so valuable, and get insights on the terroirs that shape these exceptional bottles.

By

CultX Team

Most expensive fine wines 2022

The most expensive red wines in the world

What are the most expensive wines in the world in 2022? We look at the incredible producers, opulent collectibles, and unique offerings commanding the top prices for fine wine this year.

Burgundies dominate the list of the highest-priced red wines. The five most expensive red wines all hail from the prestigious Côte de Nuits, a region known for its unique terroirs and exclusive Grand Cru vineyards. Winemaking in the region is characterised by small-scale production and high-quality products.

1. Domaine Leroy Musigny Grand Cru

  • Average price across all vintages: $42,095
  • Producer: Domaine Leroy
  • Country: France
  • Region: Côte de Nuits, Burgundy
  • Grape: Pinot Noir

What makes it so expensive:

  • Made from Grand Cru grapes grown in Musigny, one of Burgundy’s most renowned vineyards.
  • Considered one of the best of the best Burgundies.
  • Produced in extremely small quantities (fewer than 100 cases per year) according to the strictest biodynamic principles for the truest expressions of Domaine Leroy’s rarefied terroir.
“Lalou Bize-Leroy stands virtually alone at the top of Burgundy’s quality hierarchy… [S]he is a perfectionist, and…she has had the courage to produce wines from low yields and bottle them naturally, without fining or filtration… Anyone who loves great Burgundy, must realise that her wines embarrass much of what is produced in Burgundy.”

Robert Parker
- The Wine Advocate

2. Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee Conti Grand Cru

  • Average price across all vintages: $24,826
  • Producer: Domaine de la Romanee-Conti
  • Country: France
  • Region: Côte de Nuits, Burgundy
  • Grape: Pinot Noir

What makes it so expensive:

  • Produced by an icon of Burgundy winemaking, who have made some of the world’s most exclusive wines for centuries.
  • Consistently considered not just the best of Burgundy and all of France but the pinnacle of fine wine.
  • Scored 100/100 for multiple vintages.
“[W]hen DRC is on form it delivers with style and panache that only a handful of wines can achieve; an unbelievable balance of power and elegance.”

Neal Martin
- Wine Pages

3. Domaine Georges & Christophe Roumier Musigny Grand Cru

  • Average price across all vintages: $19,680
  • Producer: Domaine Georges & Christophe Roumier
  • Country: France
  • Region: Côte de Nuits, Burgundy
  • Grape: Pinot Noir

What makes it so expensive:

  • Produced from old vine Pinot Noir grapes grown in the prestigious Musigny Grand Cru vineyard.
  • Consistently attracted greater demand since the 1990s, and consistently commanded higher prices as a result.
  • One of the region’s highest-rated wines.
"This is one of Burgundy's greatest domaines and Christophe Roumier is one of its most intelligent and knowledgeable winemakers. The combination of the two produces magic."

Clive Coates MW
- Decanter

4. Domaine Georges & Christophe Roumier Echezeaux Grand Cru

  • Average price across all vintages: $14,815
  • Producer: Domaine Georges & Christophe Roumier
  • Country: France
  • Region: Côte de Nuits, Burgundy
  • Grape: Pinot Noir

What makes it so expensive:

  • Made from Pinot Noir grapes grown on Roumier’s rarefied 0.13-hectare holding in the renowned Echezeaux Grand Cru vineyard.
  • Produced in very small quantities and extremely sought-after.
  • Consistently receives high scores from critics.
“The wines were fine in Georges and Jean-Marie’s time.  They have reached even greater heights under the aegis of Christophe.”

Clive Coates MW
- Decanter

5. Domaine Leroy Chambertin Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits, France

  • Average price across all vintages: $14,183
  • Producer: Domaine Leroy
  • Country: France
  • Region: Côte de Nuits, Burgundy
  • Grape: Pinot Noir

What makes it so expensive:

  • Chambertin is one of Burgundy’s most important vineyards: the 13.5 hectare Grand Cru vineyard has been the source of some of France’s finest wines for centuries.
  • Domaine Leroy’s bottles are no exception – critics consider this one of the top 5 Burgundy wines.
  • Produced in small quantities with few bottles made available.
“Lalou Bize-Leroy. The controversial Lalou must drive many Burgundians crazy given the extraordinary quality of her wines, and the high prices they fetch. She is an uncompromising winemaker, with a portfolio of red and white Burgundies that qualitatively have no peers.”
Robert Parker
Wine Advocate

The most expensive white wines in the world

As for red wine, the top five most expensive white wines are all produced in Burgundy. These wines come from the Cote de Beaune, a region known for producing seven of Burgundy’s eight Grand Cru white wines. Chevalier-Montrachet, Montrachet, and Montrachet-Batard are situated in different positions on the same slope, while Meursault is in a nearby area.

1. Leroy Domaine d’Auvenay Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru

  • Average price across all vintages: $30,796
  • Producer: Domaine d’Auvenay
  • Country: France
  • Region: Côte de Beaune, Burgundy
  • Grape: Chardonnay

What makes it so expensive:

  • One of the highest-rated Burgundy wines.
  • Produced by Domaine d’Auvenay, owned and managed by Lalou Bize-Leroy of Domaine Leroy.
  • Made from Chardonnay grapes grown in the ideal conditions of the Chevalier-Montrachet vineyard, a region known for producing some of Burgundy’s best wines.
“Lalou Bize-Leroy is making wines not for the present, but for eternity.”

William Kelley
- Wine Advocate

2. Leroy Domaine d’Auvenay Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru

  • Average price across all vintages: $28,746
  • Producer: Domaine d’Auvenay
  • Country: France
  • Region: Côte de Beaune, Burgundy
  • Grape: Chardonnay

What makes it so expensive:

  • Made from grapes grown in the renowned Batard-Montrachet vineyard.
  • Batard-Montrachet is located at the base of the same hill as the Grand Cru sites of Chevalier-Montrachet and Montrachet. Many consider the vineyard’s terroir ideal for Chardonnay.
  • Like the prestigious Domaine Leroy, Domaine d’Auvenay bottles are high-quality and highly sought-after.
“Burgundy wines at their highest expression: Leroy, an incomparable collection of wines that symbolises the whole know-how of Burgundy.”

Michel Bettane
- Bettane + Dessauv

3. Domaine Leflaive Montrachet Grand Cru, Cote de Beaune

  • Average price across all vintages: $18,988
  • Producer: Domaine Leflaive
  • Country: France
  • Region: Côte de Beaune, Burgundy
  • Grape: Chardonnay

What makes it so expensive:

  • Produced by one of Burgundy’s most renowned makers of white wine since 1717, Domaine Leflaive.
  • Made from grapes grown in the Montrachet vineyard situated in between Chevalier-Montrachet and Batard-Montrachet on the same slope, often thought of as a premiere place to grow Chardonnay.
“This was in a totally different league. It simply rockets from the glass with the scents of citrus lemon, lemon curd, white peach and shaved almond all beautifully delineated. The palate is an intense ‘experience’... It envelops the senses… With enormous persistence, this is quite a remarkable Montrachet to be.”

Neal Martin
- Wine Advocate

4. Leroy Domaine d’Auvenay Les Gouttes d’Or , Meursault Premier Cru

  • Average price across all vintages: $12,789
  • Producer: Domaine d’Auvenay
  • Country: France
  • Region: Côte de Beaune, Burgundy
  • Grape: Chardonnay

What makes it so expensive:

  • Produced from grapes from the vineyard Les Gouttes d’Or, which translates to ‘the droplets of gold’.
  • Considered the best wine produced in this exclusive 5.3-hectare vineyard.
  • Extremely rare bottles consistently receive high scores from critics.
"The d'Auvenay whites, especially with a little bottle age, remain some of the most utterly captivating and thrilling wines I have ever tasted."

Antonio Galloni
- Vinous

5. Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Montrachet Grand Cru

  • Average price across all vintages: $12,023
  • Producer: Domaine de la Romanee-Conti
  • Country: France
  • Region: Côte de Beaune
  • Grape: Chardonnay

What makes it so expensive:

  • One of the highest-rated Montrachet wines.
  • An exemplary expression of the renowned terroir.
  • Produced by Burgundy icon Romanee-Conti.
“DRC’s Montrachet is distinguished by its textural richness and intensity, qualities that are especially pronounced in years where there is some botrytis…Montrachet is a wine that communicates the personality of the vintage with an unmistakable sense of immediacy.”

Antonio Galloni
- Vinous

The most expensive Champagnes in the world

Special editions, rare vintages, and large bottles set the most expensive Champagnes apart from the rest.

1. Moët & Chandon Esprit du Siecle Brut

  • Average price: $5,849
  • Producer: Moët & Chandon

What makes it so expensive:

  • Produced in an edition of just 323 magnums in 2000.
  • Commemorates a century of winemaking as well as celebrates the new millennium.
  • Made from a blend of wines from throughout the 20th century, each year chosen to represent the best vintage of its decade.
“We didn't create this Champagne with a commercial aim in mind. It is more the realisation of a dream than anything else.”

Jean-Baptiste Maugars
- Moët & Chandon

2. Dom Perignon P3 Plenitude Brut

  • Average price: $4,831
  • Producer: Dom Perignon

What makes it so expensive:

  • Named for the ‘plenitudes’ that characterise a champagne’s development.
  • P3 refers to the third plenitude, around 30 years after vintage.
  • Highly concentrated with a deeply complex flavour.
“Dom Perignon wines follow the rhythm of three plenitudes: the first seven years maturing on their lees; the second between eleven and twenty years; the third beyond twenty…from one plenitude to the next, Dom Perignon will grow and blossom, transmuting time into energy.”

Dom Perignon
- Website

3. Louis Roederer Cristal ‘Gold Medalion’ Orfevres Limited Edition Brut Millesime

  • Average price: $4,365
  • Producer: Louis Roederer

What makes it so expensive:

  • Hits the trifecta of rare champagne collectability: large format, limited-edition, and latticed in 24 Carat gold.
  • Produced in an edition of 400 jeroboams to celebrate the 2002 vintage.
  • Pays tribute to the both the craft of the Champagne and the jewellers who created the bottle’s unique design.
“When it came to designing this Cristal Jeroboam, all I could think of was the light of the wine protected in a clear bottle that was imposing due to its size. No shadows on the bottle, only reflections from a ‘sun’. From this idea emerged that of a delicate lattice, like a jewel against the skin. Medallion links encasing the surface of the glass to create a precious, unique setting for each movement.”

Philippe di Meo
- Liquides Imaginaires

The most expensive dessert wines in the world

Vintage is the key to the most expensive dessert wines - two of the top three were produced in the 18th century.

1. Barbeito Vintage Terrantez

  • Average price across all vintages: $18,149
  • Producer: Barbeito
  • Country: Portugal
  • Region: Madeira
  • Grape: Terrantez

What makes it so expensive:

  • Made from a Madeira wine originally made in 1795.
  • Released by Barbeito in small numbers from the 1980s to the 2000s.
  • One of the most famous Madeira wines, considered one of the quintessential representations of the style.
“The 1795 Terrantez by Barbeito is one of the most famous Madeira wines, if not the most famous one. Not only was it available at auctions or from specialised dealers over decades, it is also still in rather good shape for a wine that is more than 200 years old. “

Peter Reuter
- For the Love of Port

2. Egon Muller Scharzhofberger Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese, Mosel, Germany

  • Average price across all vintages: $16,814
  • Producer: Egon Muller
  • Country: Germany
  • Region: Wiltingen, Mosel Valley
  • Grape: Riesling

What makes it so expensive:

  • Made from grapes that have dried completely on the vine for a rich, sweet wine.
  • Produced in Wiltlingen, known for the minerality of the soil and the slopes of the Scharzhof mountains.
  • This region is considered the spiritual home of Riesling grapes.
“What is there to say? The first flavours are already so captivating that one misses words to describe the multi-layered complexity coming out of the glass… The finish is rich without ever being cloying. This is a modern day legend in the making.”

Jean Fisch and David Rayer
- Mosel Fine Wines

3. H.M Borges Terrantez ‘T’ Vintage, Madeira, Portugal

  • Average price across all vintages: $7,790
  • Producer: H.M Borges
  • Country: Portugal
  • Region: Madeira
  • Grape: Terrantez

What makes it so expensive:

  • Made from a Madeira originally produced in 1760.
  • Represents the Madeira Terrantez style, which has largely gone out of production.

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*Past performance is not indicative of future success; the performance was calculated in GBP and will vary in other currencies. Any investment involves risk of partial or full loss of capital.

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