A bottle of Château d'Yquem reaches 85,900 €

A 200-year-old bottle of Château d'Yquem sold for €85,900, making it the most expensive bottle of white wine in the world.

French collector and restaurateur Christian Vanneque bought this record-breaking 1811 Sauternes from The Antique Wine Company at the Ritz Hotel in London and will display it at his new Indonesian restaurant, the Sip Sunset Grill in Bali, behind glass privacy screens. balls.

The former head sommelier at La Tour d'Argent in Paris said he had every intention of uncorking the bottle and drinking its contents. He told BBC News: "It's what I call my 'little madness.' This is a spontaneous purchase; expensive, of course, but that we do to have fun. »

Stephen Williams, the executive director of The Antique Wine Company, said the wine was part of a cellar purchased from a European customer four years earlier and was released after Château d'Yquem had been authenticated.

Ten barrels of this wine were produced in 1811, or about 3,000 bottles. Most of it was exported to Russia, Mr Williams added, but there are currently only ten authenticated bottles left.

"I always have a little tear in my eye when I sell a bottle of this type, declared Mr. Williams, but I am comforted to know that it is in good hands. »

The 1811 vintage is the best known of the “Comète Wines”: vintages that experienced an astronomical phenomenon before harvest (the Great Comet of 1811, in this case).

In his book, Vintage Wine, Michael Broadbent said he last tasted Château d'Yquem 1811 in 1998. “It reminded me of raspberry and cream. Of considerable depth and length. A dry finish. »

Source: Richard Woodard
Decanter.com
July 27, 2011