The most valuable bottles of wine you may have at home

We all love a tipple, but some bottles of wine gathering dust in your house could be worth a lot more than you think. We commissioned a wine expert to compile a list of the most valuable bottles of wine that you may have at home, along with a list of the five most expensive wines ever sold. Our expert has also shared his tips to prospective wine collectors on what to look out for when investing in wine!

 

15 most valuable bottles of wine you may have at home

The list has been compiled in the format of: price, year and name

1.		£15,000  - 1962 Romanee Conti, Domaine Romanee Conti
2.	£15,000  - 1961 Hermitage La Chapelle, Jaboulet
3.		£15,000  - 1945 Mouton Rothschild
4.	£12,000  - 1999 Vosne Romanee, Cros Parentoux, Henri Jayer
5.		£7,500    - 1947 Chateau Cheval Blanc

 

6.  £5,500    - 1961 Chateau Latour
7.  £5,000    - 1990 La Tache, Domaine Romanee Conti
8.  £4,000    - 1947 Petrus
9.  £3,500    - 1982 Chateau Lafleur
10.  £3,000    - 1962 Musigny, Grand Cru, Domaine George Roumier
11.  £2,000    - 1961 Chateau Palmer
12.  £1,500    - 1971 Barolo, Monfortino, Conterno
13.  £1,500    - 1976 Penfolds Grange
14.  £1,500    - 1989 Chateau Haut Brion
15.  £500       - 1989 Petrus

 

5 most expensive wines ever sold

1.  £1.45 million - 2013 Taste of Diamonds
2.  £352,165      - 1992 Screaming Eagle Cabernet
3.  £193,690      - 2013 Armand de Brignac Rose
4.  £158,474      - 1787 Chateau Margaux
5.  £110,079      - 1787 Chateau Lafite

 

Investor guidelines

• Only buy from reputable merchants, the chances are you will never see the wine you are investing in and so you need to be sure you can trust the merchant you buy from. Jim Budd’s investdrinks.org is a good place to start your background research on any company.
• Buy complete cases in their original packaging, preferably wooden cases of six and buy them in bond (so excluding VAT and duty)
• Store your wines in a secure, temperature controlled, bonded warehouse. This ensure perfect provenance and means your wine is much easier to trade when the time comes to sell.
• Don’t be tempted to take a bottle to try, removing a bottle from the case can reduce its value by 20-30%. Be very clear about which wine you are buying to invest in and which you would like to drink and if a wine ticks both boxes then buy two cases!
• Wine is a long-term investment, because it is a physical product that has handling costs associated with it, when the time comes to sell it is likely that you will be offered 10% below the current market value. Plan to keep any purchase you make for at least 10 years.
• Above all, enjoy being part of the wine world! Buying wine should be the fun part of any investment portfolio and when invitations for tastings and dinners are sent, accept them and have some fun!

 

And if you do class yourself as a bit of a wine connoisseur, or you are new to the world of wine, then you may wish to take a look at our range of wine glasses, wine coolers or perhaps even our wine tables to help you to show off your favourite bottles.

 

Image Credits:
1962 Romanee Conti, Domaine Romanee Conti - cultwine.com
1961 Hermitage La Chapelle, Jaboulet - decanter.com
1945 Mouton Rothschild - decanter.com
1999 Vosne Romanee, Cros Parentoux, Henri Jayer - pleasurewine.com
1947 Chateau Cheval Blanc - catawiki.com
Pic collage: LoveAntiques stock