1.SCREAMING EAGLE CABERNET SAUVIGNON 1992 – $500,000

Trust the Americans to get the best of the deals. For the most expensive bottle of wine to have been sold till date was made not in Italy or France, but urm, in America – Oakville, California to be precise. Thanks to the rarity and the small quantities of wine produced from here, the wine has achieved cult status. A bottle of Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon 1992, described as ‘spectacular’, managed to fetch the unbelievable price of $500,000 for a charity auction in 2000. Unfiltered and unfined while bottling, this wine is aged in 60% new oak and is opaque purple in color. It has an aroma of jammy blackcurrants, and there are subtle traces of oak in it.

2. JEROBOAM OF CHATEAU MOUTON-ROTHSCHILD 1945 – $310,700

This is a product of the richest family on earth, and so its price is not a surprise. Coming from the vineyards of Nathaniel Rothschild who bought the estate in 1853, today these wines are among the most valued in the world. The ‘V’ in the 1945 label indicates the victory of the Allied forces in the Second World War, and this is considered one of the best vintages of the last century. While a standard 750 ml bottle comes at $310,700, a glass of this would cost around, well, $8,631. It gives mint, dry green moss, vanilla and dry pine needles on the nose and dry soil, raspberry and sweet dried cherries on the palate.

3. 1947 CHEVAL BLANC – $304,375

Sold in an auction at Christie’s to an anonymous buyer for $304,375, the 1947 Chateau Cheval Blanc is considered by many to be the best Bordeaux ever made. Chateau Cheval Blanc is one of the most prestigious winemakers in the world and has been the recipient of the super-exclusive Premier Grand Cru Classe (A) rank in the Classification of Saint-Emilion wine in 2012. Yet, it has a very funny incident behind its excellent reputation. The year of its birth was characterized by bad weather because of which it had to be produced under very primitive conditions with many technical flaws, giving it a taste that could never be replicated.

4. SHIPWRECKED 1907 HEIDSIECK – $275,000

It seems almost an impossible price for a wine people were not sure was even drinkable. But a bottle costing $275,000 each is what you get when the wine was intended originally only for the last tsar of Russia, Nicholas II. When the ship carrying the wine sank in 1916, the wine was thought to be lost, till the wreckage was discovered in 1997. While 2,000 bottles of this wine were discovered, what makes these cost so much is the history behind the bottles – the ship had been torpedoed by a German submarine during the First World War.

For 80 years, this wine had been at freezing temperatures, left undisturbed and away from any source of light. Chris Hoel, who tasted this wine, reported gunflint, black rifle powder and something salty on the nose, and graham cracker, flamed oranges and burnt lemon oil among others on the palate.

5. CHATEAU LAFITE 1869 – $230,000

The auctioneers were expecting a mere $8000 when it went up for auction in Hong Kong. Imagine their surprise when the highest bid reached $230,000 for each of the three bottles, by an anonymous buyer from Asia. What the auctioneers did not know was that the Chateau Lafite is considered an extremely rare and luxury item in Asia.

According to beautifullife.info