As usual, the publication of our Barometer brings the opportunity to reveal the bottles that caused the fiercest bidding wars and those that broke records in the course of our 2019 auctions. Here are our rankings of the 50 highest priced bottles and the 50 highest priced lots.
To celebrate iDealwine’s 20th birthday, we’re making our 2020 Barometer available in PDF format to everyone signed up to our site. You can access it via your ‘My iDealwine’ page. And here is a taste of what you’ll find in the 130-page document.
Top 3 highest bids on iDealwine in 2019
Whilst the fight for second and third place was a close one, the assortment of 2009 vintages from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti came out on top by a mile. This case of 12 went for a whopping €47,181, a first-time figure for iDealwine! It looks as though this Burgundy legend is simply impossible to dethrone, taking second place as well as an assortment from the 2011 vintage, a case that sold for €37,210. However, it still has to share the podium with long-time rival Petrus, from whom a lucky wine lover purchased a 16-bottle vertical.
#1: Assortment of 12 bottles from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, 2009 vintage: €47,181
#2: Assortment of 12 bottles from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, 2011 vintage: €37,210
#3: 16-bottle vertical from Petrus, 1999-2014: €36,226
As for the rest of the ranking (see full table at the end of the article), Burgundy takes up 30 places in the top 50, 25 of which are sales of Romanée-Conti whose 12-bottle assortments are seeing strong increases in value. Other domains from the region, such as Leroy, Mugnier and Roumier, make an appearance in the table, and rather impressively with the sale of single bottles. Next is Bordeaux, a region to perform particularly well when it comes to lots. A case of 12 bottles of the famous 2000 vintage from Château Mouton-Rothschild was sold for a top bid of €20,794. And assorted cases from the likes of Duclos and Carré d’As, some of the most prestigious Bordeaux Châteaux, also attracted plenty of interest from our bidders. The Rhône Valley had a bit more difficulty fighting its way into the top 50 lots with the highest bids, with just one lot of three bottles of the legendary 2003 Cathelin cuvée from Jean-Louis Chave, which went for the nonetheless superb price of €13,376.
Top 3 highest priced bottles on iDealwine in 2019
Here we have the ranking of the individual bottles that received the highest bids. Looking at it, one thing is certain – if you’re eyeing up an old bottle of whisky from your cellar, you might want to resist, as it could be worth a fortune! 2019 saw the striking entrance of spirits, particularly whisky, into our top rankings. Matured for several decades and with ageing potential to make even Romanée-Conti blush, spirits are perfect for auction, as proven by the bottle of 50-year aged Glenfiddich which broke all our records for a hammer price of €28,981! Rather a kick in the teeth for the 2015 Romanée-Conti grand cru that had to be content with an unfamiliar second place, having reached a bid of €19,091. We wonder if this domain will manage to take back its crown next year…Start placing your bets! Third place also went to a whisky, this time a 50-year single malt from the Banffshire distillery, which went for €18,420.
#1: 50-Year aged Glenfiddich: €28,981
#2: Romanée-Conti grand cru from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, 2015 vintage: €19,091
#3: 50-Year aged The Balvenie from the Banffshire Distillery: €18,420
Burgundy comes out on top again in terms of the places in the top 50 highest priced bottles, taking 35 in all, 22 of which being Romanée-Conti. Other big names like Georges Roumier, Domaine Leroy and Domaine Leflaive are all solidly established, too. This hegemony can be explained largely by a rarity in this region that isn’t seen as much elsewhere, with much smaller surface areas of vine growth compared to, say, Bordeaux. Wines from this latter region tend to do better by lot, meaning that Bordeaux is a little behind in terms of top individual bottles. There are only 7 bottles from here, most of which are in large formats (magnum, double-magnum and jeroboam), a speciality of the region. Petrus makes an appearance, of course, but we also see Château Mouton-Rothschild as well as a 1961 magnum from Château Latour auctioned for €7,229.
For several years now, we’ve been noticing increased interest in the Rhône Valley, and the third most important French wine region is here represented by 4 wines: the Cathelin cuvée by Jean-Louis Chave in the 1990, 1991 and 2003 vintages, and the 1961 Chapelle Hermitage by Paul Jaboulet Ainé with a hammer price of €7,418! A region making its presence known year upon year.
You can take a closer look at the table to spot a Cognac from Rémy Martin and a 2010 Riesling from Egon Muller (a German domain), bottles that round off the ranking with a splash of something different.
Here is a video presentation of our Barometer by Angélique de Lencquesaing, and we’ve included English subtitles!
Looking to invest in wine? We’re here to help!
Top 50 highest-priced bottles in 2019
Top 50 highest-priced lots in 2019
