World’s most expensive wine revealed

By Andy Young

The world's most expensive wine has been revealed and while it is a rare Burgundy, many may be surprised to discover it is not a Romanee-Conti.

New Zealand-based website WineSearcher has released its annual list of the world's most expensive wines and this year the number one spot went to the 1985 Richebourg Grand Cru, from the Côtes de Nuit range, which costs US$15,195 ($20,500) for a 750ml bottle. The wine was created by renowned winemaker Henri Jayer.

The second most expensive wine on the list was also a Burgundy, with Romanee-Conti's Grand Cru coming in with an average price of US$13,314 ($18,000).

Wines from Burgundy not only took out the top three on the list, but also accounted for 40 of the top 50 wines. The list is based on price lists from around 55,000 wine merchants and covers over seven million wines of all vintages.

No Australian wines made it into the top 50, but the most expensive Australian wine on the WineSearcher website is the R Wines Chris Ringland Three Rivers Dry-Grown, Barossa Valley Shiraz. The wine has an average price of US$694 ($938) according to WineSearcher.