Can our wine auction results predict the medal table of the current Olympic Games? We shall see which 10 countries take the top spots in the iDealwine medal table based on our analysis of the first half of 2024.
This summer, over 10,000 athletes are taking part in the Paris Olympic games. While the French capital and the other host cities are busy focusing on the many different competitions going on, we have another one that is just as fiercely fought over: Which country can boast the most expensive bottle of 2024 so far?
Already, more than 115,000 standard bottles, magnums, and Jeroboams have gone under the iDealwine hammer since the start of the year. Join us as we see which countries will take gold, silver and bronze in the best auction sales category.
Who will top the Olympic medal table?
How many medals will each country take homes from the 2024 Olympic Games? And where will host country France finish in the medal table? These are questions on everyone’s lips here in France where national attention has turned towards the capital and the Olympics.
According to predictions by the analysts Gracenote-Nielsen, the USA will take home 39 gold medals, followed by China with 34 and then France – yes, France! – with 27. But when looking at the overall medal table and including all medals won, the Great British team could pip the French with 63 medals to Les Blues 60. And the USA could top the medal table with 112 in total and China finishing second, taking home 86. Let’s see if these predictions come true.
We have Olympic fever here at iDealwine with our team celebrating different countries and sports in our Instagram competition. As we will analyse the performance of the world’s greatest wine-producing nations, can we use this data to predict the outcome of the Olympics? Probably not, but we’re not going to stop with the Olympics references – #SorryNotSorry. Let’s have a look at the countries that made it into the Top 10 of our medal table based on auction results from the first half of 2024. And the results aren’t necessarily what you’ve had thought.
A quick look at auction results from the first six months of the year confirm it doesn’t follow the Olympic Games predictions, whether you look at the number of bottles auctioned online or the highest-priced bottle. French wine represents 94% of the some 115,000 bottles (all size formats included) auctioned since the start of the year, representing 97% of the total value sold. These results highlight the fascination that iDealwine’s global clientele, coming from over 60 countries, has for French fine wine.
And the highest-priced wine comes from – drumroll please – France!
And of course it originates from Burgundy, this star auction region. Just as in 2023, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti asserts itself with its eponymous grand cru taking the top step of the podium with not one but two bottles. The 2012 and 2006 vintages were both auctioned for €17,528, being bought by an Italian and a Polish bidder, respectively. Is this a sign that some French athletes will win more than one medal? Or is it a nod to boxing where a bronze medal will be given to each of the losing semi-finalists? We shall have to watch the Olympics to find out…
Now back to wine… In the first half of the year, France took away the top spot of the podium from Olympic favourites, the USA. While the American team are known for being unbeatable at basketball, the wine that takes second place for the country has links to football – or as the Americans call it – soccer. That is because Screaming Eagle, the famous Californian label, belons to Stanley Kroenke, who also owns the English football club Arsenal and Domaine Bonneau du Martray in Burgundy.
Always a collector’s item, it’s this tiny Napa Valley winery’s first vintage – the 1992 – that represents the USA on the leaderboard, having been won at auction by an Italian wine enthusiast for €11,268. This property produces microscopic quantities of Bordeaux-style blends (with a large amount of Cabernet Sauvignon). It’s hard to come by as you either have to be lucky enough to feature on the allocation list or else, you need to battle it out at iDealwine auctions for a bottle.
France, the USA and Italy
The bronze medal for the highest-priced wine of 2024 so far goes to Italy. The Azuri are front runners in the 100 metres (no pun intended) and the high jump during the athletics at the Olympic Games. And when it comes to wine, a “heavy-weight” bottle from Tuscany secured them third place in the iDealwine medal table. It was, in fact, a double-magnum of the famous Ornellaia, whose 2001 vintage was sold to a Luxembourgish enthusiast for €2,003. This is a fine accolade for a wine in the ‘Super-Tuscan’ category, whose hammer price was 60% above the iDealwine Price Estimate for the wine.
And what about China, a country that is likely to battle it out for one of the top three positions at the Olympics? This country excels at all Olympic disciplines but it’s always captivating watching its athletes compete in gymnastics, table tennis and badminton. It also finishes in iDealwine’s Top 10, coming in ninth place. So if you don’t know much about China’s fine wine production, now’s the time to do some research to see what delights you could find in our auctions.
Take a look at iDealwine’s medal table, ranking the countries by their highest-priced wines. Is it what you had expected?
Our very best wishes to all athletes taking part in this summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games! The first week of the J.O. as the French call them (short for Jeux Olympiques or Olympic Games) has created some amazing moments and we can’t wait to see what the rest of it brings. And to you our dear readers, we hope you enjoy the magical moments, whether you’re lucky enough to be there as they unfold or at home with something nice in your glass.
The iDealwine rankings of the highest-priced wines of the first six months of 2024
(one wine per country – the one with the highest price)
| Position | Country of production | Wine | Price per unit (VAT incl.) | Buyer |
| 1 | France | 1 bottle of 2006 Romanée-Conti (Joint first) 1 bottle of 2012Romanée Conti | €17,528 | Italian and Polish enthusiasts |
| 2 | United States of America | 1 bottle of 1992 Oakville Screaming Eagle | €11,268 | Italian enthusiast |
| 3 | Italy | 1 double-magnum of 2001 Ornellaia | €2,003 | Luxembourgish enthusiast |
| 4 | Portugal | 1 bottle of 1880 Porto Quinta Do Noval | €1,565 | French enthusiast |
| 5 | Spain | 1 bottle of 1970 Ribera Del Duero Vega Sicilia Unico | €901 | Swiss enthusiast |
| 6 | Australia | 1 bottle of 2014 Penfold Grange Bin 95 | €588 | Korean enthusiast |
| 7 | Germany | 1 bottle of 2002 Riesling Rüdesheim Berg Schlossberg– Georg Breuer | €376 | Swedish enthusiast |
| 8 | Hungary | 3 half-bottles of 2003 Tokaji Aszu Essencia Royal Tokaji | €300 | French enthusiast |
| 9 | China | 3 bottles of 2015 Yunnan Ao Yun | €275 | French enthusiast |
| 10 | Chile | 1 magnum of 2017 Almaviva Concha y Toro – Baron P. de Rothschild | €215 | Lithuanian professional |
