Burgundy breaks record for most expensive wine ever sold

A bottle of Burgundy has broken the world record for the most expensive wine ever sold.

Last weekend, a single bottle of Romanée-Conti 1945 fetched $812,500 (£616,000) at auction in New York, further sealing the status of the French region’s most coveted estate.

The previous record, also held by a bottle of Romanée-Conti 1945, was $558,000, set at Sotheby’s in 2018.

The hammer price was more than 130 per cent above the initial estimate, underlining the enduring pull of trophy wines while the wider wine market faces an uncertain future.

The secret buyer, who is not French, was said to be “a genuine drinker” as opposed to an investor.

The sale took place at Acker’s La Paulée auction in the US, where the fine wine auction house’s three-day event brought in more than $25m and set 460 world records, with more than 7,600 bottles of Burgundy sold.

The vintage carries rare historical weight as 1945 was both an exceptional year for wine in Burgundy and the last harvest before the domaine uprooted its pre-phylloxera vines on the tiny Romanée-Conti parcel, producing just 600 bottles.

Phylloxera is a pest that ravaged Europe’s vineyards in the 19th century, forcing most winemakers to replant their vines on the more resistant American rootstock, meaning the vintage can never be reproduced.

After the sale, John Kapon, the chairman of Acker’s, said: “We made history this weekend.

“I’ve had the privilege of tasting the 1945 Romanée-Conti just three times in my life, and it is the greatest wine I’ve ever tasted.”

He said the event reflected “the accelerating demand for trophy wines at the highest end of the fine wine market”.

The world of wine, particularly in France, is in crisis as producers grapple with sinking demand and weaker consumption.

As a vineyard, Romanée-Conti is tiny, covering 1.81 hectares. In ordinary years, production is minuscule. But in 1945, it was microscopic.

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, the estate in the commune of Vosne-Romanée, is made up of eight vineyards and is widely regarded as Burgundy’s best-known producer.

The domaine usually produces between 5,000 and 6,000 bottles a year. In 1945, only a tenth of that figure was produced.

The name dates back to the 18th century, when the Prince of Conti bought the vineyard. Over time, that tiny parcel became the pinnacle of red Burgundy.

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti accounted for 17 per cent of Sotheby’s wine sales volume last year, more than double the next highest producer Pétrus at 7 per cent.

The estate also set Sotheby’s highest price for a wine lot in 2025, when a 12-bottle case of Romanée-Conti 1990 sold in Hong Kong for $449,890.

Acker’s said the vintage sold during the weekend had come from the personal cellar of Robert Drouhin, the late patriarch of the Drouhin family, one of Burgundy’s most prominent winemaking dynasties.

However, Frédéric Drouhin, the co-manager of the Drouhin estate, said the bottle had already left the family cellar before the sale.

He told the French radio station Ici Bourgogne: “The bottle no longer belonged to my father. That is a mistake. It did originally belong to him, as it was sold by Sotheby’s in 2023, and the buyer recently resold it at Acker’s.”

Even so, the wine’s link to one of Burgundy’s best-known families remains a strong part of its allure.

Angélique de Lencquesaing, a co-founder and chief executive of the auction house iDealwine, said the sale was “a source of pride” at a time when much of the world of French wine is under strain.

Auction prices had “stabilised for the most sought-after lots, including in Burgundy”, she added, showing that “enthusiasts and collectors remain on the lookout for rare lots”.

She said the buyer was “a genuine connoisseur and a true enthusiast; in any case, he is more of a wine drinker than a speculator”.

Try full access to The Telegraph free today. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus useful tools and expert guides for your money, health and holidays.