UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) recognized the uniqueness of the vineyards of the Cote de Nuits and the Cote de Beaune, which produce some of the finest red wines in the world made from pinot noir and chardonnay grapes. The Richebourg Grand Cru was a Cote de Nuits created by the ingenious winemaker, Henri Jayer who died in 2006 at age 84. Jayer was against utilizing chemicals in the winemaking process and believed in small-scale production, only turning out an estimated 3,500 bottles per year.
It should come as no surprise that another Henri Jayer wine, his Cros-Parantoux Vosne-Romanee Premier Cru, which comes from a tiny 1.01 hectare (2.5 acre) parcel, steals third place on the list at $8,832 a bottle. The detailed examination that formed the most recent update concerned more than seven million wines of all vintages, taking an average price per bottle.
Romanee-Conti, Burgundy’s most acclaimed wine, came in second on the list at $13,314 and the vineyard has a total of six bottles on the table. Vosne-Romanee and Montrachet are other “grand crus” from Burgundy, which are also among the priciest ones. France’s Bordeaux wine region, notable to many, only has two wines on the list, both Pomerols: the Petrus and a Le Pin.
Founded in London in 1999, Wine-Searcher releases periodic updates to its 50 most expensive wines list, which is based on prices from nearly 55,000 wine merchants and producers around the world.
