When it comes to fine wine, prestige, rarity, and provenance often drive its value – and in the upper echelons of the market, a handful of brands consistently command staggering prices. Whether prized for their historical significance, microscopic production volumes, or cult-like global following, these wine estates represent the pinnacle of luxury and investment potential.
In this 2025 refresh, we explore ten of the most expensive wine brands in the world based on average price per bottle, auction records, and consistent placement in investment portfolios.
1. Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC) – Burgundy, France
Most expensive wine: Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, Romanee-Conti Grand Cru
Average case price: £212,246
Ten-year performance: +138%
Often considered the Holy Grail of wine, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti consistently tops the list of the world’s most expensive brands. With vineyards rooted in Grand Cru Burgundy terroir and production capped at painfully low quantities, demand vastly outstrips supply. The Romanée-Conti monopole, in particular, sees bottles fetching upwards of £100,000 at auction. In 2018, it broke records when the 1945 vintage sold for $558,000 (£422,663) at a Sotheby’s auction in New York.
2. Liber Pater – Graves, Bordeaux, France
Most expensive wine: Liber Pater
Average case price: £142,237
Ten-year performance: N/A
Perhaps the most controversial wine brand on this list, Liber Pater makes microscopic quantities of Bordeaux wines using rare pre-phylloxera varietals alongside classic regional grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, and ancient winemaking methods. With production of just a few hundred bottles, and a fierce commitment to historical authenticity, Liber Pater has redefined scarcity and pricing. However, the wine’s investment potential is debatable. The owner and winemaker, Loïc Pasquet, says: ‘I take care, myself, where I sell my wine because I want to be sure they are not on the secondary market. I want to be sure people buy and drink’.
3. Domaine Leroy – Burgundy, France
Most expensive wine: Domaine Leroy, Richebourg Grand Cru
Average case price: £117,178
Ten-year performance: +522%
Led by Lalou Bize-Leroy, Domaine Leroy offers some of the most fastidiously biodynamic and low-yield wines in Burgundy. Its Musigny, Richebourg, and Romanée-St-Vivant bottlings are among the rarest – and priciest – in the world. The brand consistently tops Liv-ex’s Power 100 list – a ranking of the most powerful wine brands in the world – based on a combination of year-on-year price performance, secondary market trade by value and volume, number of wines and vintages traded, and average price of the wines in a brand. Leroy itself has been a big driver behind Burgundy’s rising share of the investment market.
4. Domaine Jean Louis Chave – Rhône, France
Most expensive wine: Domaine Jean Louis Chave, Hermitage, Ermitage Cathelin
Average case price: £62,771
Ten-year performance: +191%
A name revered in the Northern Rhône and far beyond, Domaine Jean-Louis Chave represents the pinnacle of Hermitage winemaking. With a family lineage stretching back to 1481, the estate combines centuries of tradition with exacting modern standards. Its flagship Hermitage Rouge, a masterful blend of parcels including Le Méal, Les Bessards, and L’Hermite, is one of the most celebrated and age-worthy Syrahs in the world. Even rarer is the Cuvée Cathelin, produced only in exceptional vintages and released in microscopic quantities. These wines can fetch upwards of £5,000 per bottle, placing it among the rarest wines of France.
5. Screaming Eagle – Napa Valley, USA
Most expensive wine: Screaming Eagle, Cabernet Sauvignon
Average case price: £37,466
Ten-year performance: +84%
No list would be complete without California’s cult wine crown jewel, Screaming Eagle. Its Cabernet Sauvignon is produced in minuscule quantities and sold primarily through an exclusive mailing list – allocation only. First released in the early 1990s, it’s now an ultra-luxury brand synonymous with elite American wine. In 2000, it broke the record for the most expensive wine sold at auction with a 6-litre bottle of its 1992 vintage sold for $500,000 (£378,815) at the Napa Valley Auction.
6. Château Petrus – Pomerol, Bordeaux, France
Most expensive wine: Château Petrus
Average case price: £30,655
Ten-year performance: +61%
Made almost entirely from Merlot, Château Petrus leads the Right Bank in both quality and price. The vineyard’s unique terroir, characterised by an iron-rich clay soil known as ‘crasse de fer,’ is considered a crucial factor in the wine’s distinctive character and depth. The brand enjoys legendary status among wine investors and critics alike, with top vintages like 1982, 2000, and 2009 often commanding five-figure sums per bottle.
7. Le Pin – Pomerol, Bordeaux, France
Most expensive wine: Le Pin
Average case price: £27,957
Ten-year performance: +78%
Tiny, exclusive, and almost mythically rare, Le Pin is one of the most coveted names in Bordeaux and the world. Situated on just 2.7 hectares in the heart of Pomerol, Le Pin was virtually unknown until the late 1970s, when Belgian entrepreneur Jacques Thienpont purchased the land and began producing micro-parcel Merlot in a garage-like setting. Le Pin swiftly ascended to cult status, helped by sky-high critic scores, minuscule production, and a hedonistic, opulent style that captivated the market. Made entirely from Merlot and produced in quantities of only 500 to 600 cases per year, Le Pin is the ultimate Pomerol rarity.
8. Krug – Champagne, France
Most expensive wine: Krug, Clos du Mesnil
Average case price: £16,027
Ten-year performance: +123%
Synonymous with prestige in the world of Champagne, Krug blends traditional craftsmanship with luxurious finesse. While the non-vintage Krug Grande Cuvée already sits at the top end of the NV market, it’s the single-vineyard bottlings – Clos du Mesnil (Blanc de Blancs) and Clos d’Ambonnay (Blanc de Noirs) – that elevate Krug into the investment realm. With just over one hectare under vine and extremely limited production, Clos du Mesnil represents one of the rarest and most coveted bottlings in Champagne. Each vintage is vinified separately and aged extensively in Krug’s cellars before release, often emerging more than a decade after harvest. The result is a wine of remarkable tension, mineral depth, and ageability, commanding prices that rival top Burgundy whites and outperforming many in terms of demand and investment potential.
9. Giacomo Conterno – Piedmont, Italy
Most expensive wine: Giacomo Conterno, Barolo, Monfortino Riserva
Average case price: £11,651
Ten-year performance: +183%
Widely regarded as the benchmark for traditional Barolo, Giacomo Conterno is a name that commands deep respect. The crown jewel of the estate is the Barolo Monfortino Riserva, which has seen prices rise 183% on average in the last decade. Fermented in old wooden vats and aged for up to seven years in large Slavonian oak casks, Monfortino’s scarcity and critical acclaim have made it one of Italy’s most sought-after wines.
10. Henschke – Eden Valley, Australia
Most expensive wine: Henschke Hill of Grace
Average case price: £8,205
Ten-year performance: +148%
One of Australia’s most storied and respected family-owned wineries, Henschke has been producing wine in South Australia’s Eden Valley since 1868. Now in its sixth generation, the estate is led by Stephen and Prue Henschke, who have turned it into a pioneer in biodynamic viticulture and a benchmark for site-driven Australian wine. While Henschke produces a range of acclaimed wines, its global reputation is anchored by a single, sacred site: Hill of Grace. First bottled in 1958, Hill of Grace is sourced from a tiny, pre-phylloxera vineyard planted in the 1860s – among the oldest Shiraz vines in the world. Hill of Grace is made only in exceptional vintages, and with limited production – sometimes fewer than 2,000 cases – it has become one of the most collectible and expensive wines from the Southern Hemisphere.
For a deeper look at wine investment opportunities in top-tier producers, explore Wine Track, or speak with our team about sourcing bottles from these benchmark estates.
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