Bordeaux wines aren’t exactly renowned to be affordable ones!
At least, that’s the reputation Bordeaux wines have acquired over the past decade or two, with the top estates now commanding very high, often speculative pricing.
But let’s not forget that Bordeaux is the second biggest wine region in France (just after Languedoc-Roussillon) producing large volumes of more affordable table wine at a decent QPR. The average price of a basic Bordeaux red in the US sits at ‘only’ $13! Read my recent review of 2014 Mouton Cadet as an example of a large-volume wine, distributed worldwide, and of decent quality for the price.
In addition, you’d probably be surprised to find out that only 2 Bordeaux wines made it into the Top 50 Most Expensive Wines Globally, which is dominated by rare Burgundies and even rare sweet German Trockenbeerenauslese flasks.
Yet, admittedly, the very best Bordeaux wines have reached pricing very few of us can afford on a regular basis (if at all!). These are collectible items only found at top wine merchants, high-end restaurants, and in wealthy wine collector’s cellars.
So, which are the most praised, the rarest, and consequently the most expensive Bordeaux wines?
Watch the Story of the Most Expensive Wine Ever Sold in Video
Watch the Top 10 Bordeaux Wines In Video, or read on to the Top 25:
Some names in the Top 25-list below won’t surprise most readers, the 8 first growths from the left and right bank, and Sauternes, all featuring here.
But a few less obvious Bordeaux wines including a couple of whites, will surprise you I’m sure, starting with what is now THE #1 most expensive Bordeaux wine!
1 – Liber Pater, Graves
Average Price: $4,785 – €4,128 – £3,653
Grape Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Tarnay Coulant, Marselan, Petit Verdot, Castet
What is it about? Liber Pater is a relatively new wine in the Bordeaux wine scene, with the first released vintage being 2006. Owner Loic Pasquet crafts this boutique wine from old vines and ungrafted rootstock grown on sandy and gravel soils for the Graves area, South of Bordeaux. Essentially, Pasquet’s idea is to show what Bordeaux wines tasted like at the time of the 1855 classification, or pre-Phylloxera. Some of the vineyards are planted at a staggering-high vine density, up to 20,000 vines per hectare (8000+ vines per acre), double the density of even the Top Bordeaux first growths mentioned below! Liber Pater wine was named after an ancient Roman God predating Bacchus, who was the God of vines, wine, abundance, and fertility. The winery also makes and sells a white wine (Liber Pater Blanc, averaging around $3000) and a sweet white dessert wine (liquoreux from Graves Superieures for sale from the winery around $7000).
Winery Website: liber-pater.com
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2 – Petrus, Pomerol
Average Price: $2,895 – €2,497 – £2,210
Grape Varieties: 100% Merlot
What is it about? Small production 100% Merlot wine from an 11-ha vineyard (27 acres) on a unique blue clay soil. Property of the Moueix family since 1964, Petrus fame (and price) knew a steep increase after Robert Parker notorious praise of the 1982 vintage. About 4000 cases of Petrus are produced each year.
Winery Website: None!
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3 – Le Pin, Pomerol
Average Price: $2,754 – € 2,375 – £2,102
Grape Varieties: Merlot
What is it about? Le Pin is a small 2.7-hectare (6-acre) estate in Pomerol on the right bank of the Gironde. Founded in 1979 by the owners of neighboring Vieux Château Certan, the Thienpont family, the quality of Le Pin wine was brought to the front scene by Robert Parker and his famous reports over the potential of vintage 1982. The vineyard of Le Pin is planted nearly at 100% Merlot, although there is a small vineyard of Cabernet Franc that doesn’t generally make it into the final blend. Annual production is tiny around 600 to 700 cases per year.
Winery Website: None!
4 – Château Lafite Rothschild, Pauillac
Average Price: $943 – €814 – £720
Grape Varieties: Bordeaux Red Blend
What is it about? In 1815, Guillaume Lawton said of Château Lafite, “I consider it to be the most elegant and delicate, with the finest substance of the three (Premier Crus). The location of its vines is one of the finest in the Médoc”. In 1855 the Château was ranked as a Premier Grand Cru in the famous classification that was prepared for the Universal Exhibition of that year. The wine is blended from 80 to 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5 to 20% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and a small proportion of Petit Verdot. Note that there are some exceptional cases such as the 1994 vintage where Cab Sauv can become absolutely dominant (99% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Petit Verdot that vintage) or the 1961 vintage (100% Cabernet Sauvignon). After fermentation, Lafite is aged in fine French oak barrels for 18 to 20 months in 100% new barrels. Annual production averages around 16,000 cases.
Winery Website: lafite.com
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5 – Château Haut-Brion Blanc, Pessac-Léognan
Average Price: $899 – €775 – £686
Grape Varieties: Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon
What is it about? With a surface under vines of less than 3 ha (about 7 acres) and a highly restricted production, Château Haut-Brion Blanc is the most expensive dry white Bordeaux. Blended from Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc in nearly equal proportions, this wine embodies the utopian vision of the Larrieu family, owners of the property in the nineteenth century: obtaining the aromatic fullness of the finest dessert wines in a dry white wine! The vineyard is 2.87 ha planted at 52,6% Sémillon and 47,4% de Sauvignon. The wine is fermented in French oak barrels (50% new) then aged in those same barrels for 9 to 12 months.
Winery Website: haut-brion.com
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6 – Château Latour, Pauillac
Average Price: $823 – €710 – £628
Grape Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon – Merlot
What is it about? Château Latour’s Grand Vin is made exclusively from “vieilles vignes” (old vines), an average of 60 years-old, in the Enclos (a walled vineyard around the winery). Gravettes, Sarmentier, Pièce de Château… these are the names of some of the finest plots that express the character of the terroir and forge the wine’s identity every year. The heart of the Enclos is the only terroir that, every year, can produce the depth, elegance and concentration that we expect of the Grand Vin. It is here that the Cabernet Sauvignon (accounting for more than 90% of the blend) can achieve optimal expression in terms of color, richness and freshness. These wines need time – often a decade- before they begin to be ready for drinking.
Winery Website: chateau-latour.com
7 – Château Ausone, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
Average Price: $756 – €652 – £577
Grape Varieties: Cabernet Franc and Merlot
Winery Website: chateau-ausone.fr
8 – Château Lafleur, Pomerol
Average Price: $753 – €650 – £575
Grape Varieties: Merlot and Cabernet Franc
What is it about? Château Lafleur is a small 4.5-ha estate. It is family-owned and family-run like many are in the Pomerol appellation of Bordeaux’ right bank. Robert Parker described Lafleur wine as “one of the most distinctive, most exotic, and greatest wines – not only in Pomerol, but in the world”. The vineyard of Château Lafleur is planted on three quite different soils: to the north-west we find sandy-clay gravel, to the south and to the east clay gravel, and at the heart of the vineyard gravelly sand. This unique association of soils helps in explaining in part the singularity of Lafleur. Lafleur combines classic Bordeaux grape varieties, almost in equal proportions: Merlot and Cabernet-Franc, the latter highly-contributing to the complexity of the wines made by Château Lafleur.
Winery Website: chateau-lafleur.fr
9 – Château Cheval Blanc, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
Average Price: $672 – €580 – £513
Grape Varieties: Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon
What is it about? Château Cheval Blanc is an estate and a winery in the Saint-Émilion region of Bordeaux right bank, classified as Premier Grand Cru Classé A. The wine is often considered one of the greatest Cabernet Franc-based wine in the world, along with Chateau Ausone, also first growth of Saint-Emilion. Cheval Blanc vineyards are at the limit of the Saint-Emilion appellation, bordering Pomerol and surrounded by such other prestigious names Petrus, Vieux Château Certan, Figeac or La Conseillante. The estate consists of 39 hectares (96 acres) divided into 45 plots with an uncommonly high proportion of Cabernet Franc plantings for the area, with about 50%, followed by a 47% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. Planting density is at 8,000 vines per hectare. Vinification is now run in the new winery Designed by Christian de Portzamparc and inaugurated in June 2011. Fermentation and malolactic fermentation are run in tanks, before ageing in 100% new French oak barrels for about 18 months. Cheval Blanc also makes a 2d wine called ‘Le Petit Cheval’ which was first released with the 1988 vintage.
Winery Website: chateau-cheval-blanc.com
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10 – Château Margaux
Average Price: $665 – €574 – £508
Grape Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot
What is it about? Château Margaux is one of Bordeaux’s, and arguably the world’s, most famous wine estates. It was classified as first growth in Napoleon’s 1855 Bordeaux Classification of the Médoc. The property covers 262 ha (650 acres) of which 80 hectares (200 acres) are under vine for the production of red wine, and 11 ha (27 acres) are planted to 100% Sauvignon Blanc for the production of Pavillon Blanc. The Grand Vin is fermented mainly in oak vats before ageing in 100% new French oak barrels for 18 to 24 months depending on the vintage. Chateau Margaux counts with its own cooper, making about a quarter of the barrels used by the winery. Château Margaux also produces a second wine called Pavillon Rouge and a third wine ‘Margaux du Chateau Margaux’.
Winery Website: chateau-margaux.com
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11 – Château Mouton Rothschild, Pauillac
Average Price: $638 – €550 – £487
Grape Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon , Merlot and Cabernet Franc
Winery Website: chateau-mouton-rothschild.com
12 – Château Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan
Average Price: $595 – €513 – £454
Grape Varieties: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc
What is it about? “The oldest of the Bordeaux classed growths, the inventor of a new style of wine in the seventeenth century, the world’s first luxury brand… whenever Château Haut-Brion is mentioned, one quickly runs out of superlatives. This wine is the embodiment of five centuries of tradition and plays a pivotal role in the worldwide history of wine.” Vineyard surface area planted: 48.35 hectares (119.42 acres). Planted grape varieties: 45.4% Merlot, 43.9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9.7% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot. Length of initial maturing period in oak casks: 18-22 months in 80% new wood. Average annual production: 10,000 to 12,000 cases.
Winery Website: haut-brion.com
13 – Château La Mission Haut-Brion White/Blanc, Pessac-Léognan
Average Price: $538 – €464 £411
Grape Varieties: Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc
What is it about? Formerly named Château Laville Haut-Brion, Château La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc is produced in such extremely limited quantities that it is confined to the initiated. Its make-up almost 85% of Semillon, 14% Sauvignon Blanc and a pinch of Muscadelle ? also makes it unique. When young it possesses the characteristics of a premier Gewurztraminer. With time it trades its Alsatian color for the amber of the great Sauterne wines. Then this dry white wine expresses all the particular traits of a great syrupy Graves wine that are specific to the Semillon grown in famous terroirs.
Winery Website: mission-haut-brion.com
14 – Trilogie de Le Pin, Pomerol
Average Price: $493 – €425 – £376
Grape Varieties: Cabernet Franc and Merlot
What is it about? Blend of 3 vintages (hence the name) from Chateau Le Pin in Pomerol.
Winery Website: None!
15 – Château d’Yquem, Sauternes
Average Price: $462 – €399 – £353
Grape Varieties: Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon
What is it about? Sweet Botrytis wine.
Winery Website: yquem.fr
16 – Château La Mission Haut-Brion Red, Pessac-Léognan
Average Price: $413 – €356 – £315
Grape Varieties: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc
What is it about? Signature terroir giving empyreumatic notes (Havana cigars, chocolate, roasting, cedar wood and so on). Surface area planted: 26.60 hectares (65.7 acres). Planted grape varieties: 42.7% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10.3% Cabernet Franc. Length of initial maturing period in oak casks: 18-22 months in 80% new oak wood.
Winery Website: mission-haut-brion.com
17 – Denis Dubourdieu Château Doisy-Daëne L’Extravagant de Doisy-Daëne, Sauternes
Average Price: $410 – €354 – £313
Grape Varieties: Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon
Winery Website: denisdubourdieu.fr
18 – Château Angelus, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
Average Price: $360 – €311 – £275
Grape Varieties: Merlot and Cabernet Franc
What is it about? In the last thirty years, Hubert de Boüard de Laforest has constantly challenged practices and techniques for the benefit of his land and the unique characteristics of the wines grown on it, enabling Château Angélus to be recognised as one of the foremost properties in its appellation area. This recognition has been documented in one classification after another, the last of which awarded Château Angélus the status of Premier Grand Cru Classé “A”.
Winery Website: angelus.com
19 – Château Pavie, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
Average Price: $330 – €285 – £252
Grape Varieties: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc
What is it about? Château Pavie has diverse terroirs: a Terroir typical of the Saint-Emilion limestone plateau composed of clay-limestone soil on an asteriated limestone subsoil, as well as a Terroir called « milieu de côte » (middle of the slope) located approximately 55 meters above the Dordogne and composed of very fine brown limestone. Many plots have been re-planted. The vines are trained high to increase the leaf canopy. Pruned to six spurs for old vines and two for young ones, green harvesting leaf thinning, as well picking and sorting by hand.
The way Château Pavie is fermented depends on the vintage. It is kept on the skins for three weeks in 20 temperature-controlled wooden vats. Malolactic fermentation in barrel and the wine is aged, depending on the vintages in 70% to 100% new oak, for 18 – 32 months.
Winery Website: vignoblesperse.com
20 – Château Lafite Rothschild ‘Carruades de Lafite’, Pauillac
Average Price: $300 – €259 – £229
Grape Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot
What is it about? Château Lafite Rothschild’s second wine, Carruades de Lafite presents similar characteristics to the Grand Vin, but with its own personality linked to a higher proportion of Merlot and to specific plots that are used to produce Carruades. The name comes from the Carruades plateau, a group of plots acquired in 1845 just next to the vines on the Château hilltop. Blend of 50 to 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30 to 50% Merlot, 0 to 5% Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Aged in barrels for 18 to 20 months, 80% in oak barrels (10% new). Annual production averages 20,000 cases.
Winery Website: lafite.com
21 – Château Palmer, Margaux
Average Price: $291 – €251 – £222
Grape Varieties: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot
Winery Website: chateau-palmer.com
22 – La Mondotte, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
Average Price: $254 – €219 – £194
Grape Varieties: Cabernet Franc and Merlot
What is it about? Dating from the 19th century, La Mondotte has been certified organic since 2014. La Mondotte’s 4.5-hectares of vines grow on the clay-limestone plateau east of Saint-Emilion. This small gem of a vineyard has all the natural attributes of a Premier Grand Cru Classé. The terroir consists of very silty clay overlaying a rocky subsoil. This shallow, meagre soil induces excellent water regulation and is propitious to deep rooting. Fine natural drainage combined with outstanding sunshine make for early and complete ripening. The grapes, especially Merlot, are picked under ideal conditions every year. Terroir: Clay-limestone. Area under vine: 4,5 ha (9,9 acres). Grape varieties: 75 % Merlot, 25 % Cabernet Franc. Average age of the vines: 60 years Hand harvest. Malolactic fermentation and ageing: In new oak barrels (100%) on fine lees. Fining and filtering as necessary, depending on the vintage. Duration of barrel ageing: 18 months in average.
Winery Website: neipperg.com
23 – Château Latour ‘Les Forts de Latour’, Pauillac
Average Price: $242 – €209 – £185
Grape Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot
What is it about? Les Forts de Latour takes its name from an historic plot in the « Enclos ». The wine was first labelled with this name in 1966 and constant work on developing its quality has resulted in its achieving the level of a Médoc Grand Cru Classé. The origin of this wine is threefold: 1) The edge of the Enclos. 2) Some plots that could be used in the Grand Vin may finally be included in the Forts de Latour blend, depending on how their quality is judged during the blending tastings. 3) Plots located outside the Enclos, in Cru Classé areas of Pauillac: These consist on the one hand, of plots such as Piñada, Petit Batailley and St. Anne, which have belonged to the estate for more than a century and whose vines benefit from a high average age (around 40 years), synonymous with quality. And on the other hand, of a seven hectare island of vines in the commune of Artigues on gravel terraces, which was acquired in 2005. Plus a handful of plots (about 5 hectares) acquired in 2012. These various blocks of plots present very different terroirs, thereby offering Forts de Latour more varied characteristics and flavour profiles depending on the vintage. Les Forts de Latour is produced with the same meticulous care as the Grand Vin, both in the vineyard and in the winery. The only notable difference, apart from the origin of the grapes, is the proportion of new barrels (50 to 60%) used in the maturing stage. The blend for Forts de Latour can vary from one year to the next but there is always a higher proportion of Merlot (25 to 30%) compared to the Grand Vin.
Winery Website: chateau-latour.com
24 – Château Léoville-Las Cases Grand Vin, Saint-Julien
Average Price: $233 – €201 – £178
Grape Varieties: Bordeaux Blend Red
What is it about? The Grand Vin is the product of exceptional terroirs from the former Léoville estate.
These terroirs are located mainly in the Clos Léoville Las Cases, which you pass as you leave Saint- Julien village for Pauillac. They extend over nearly 60ha producing Cabernet Sauvignons and Cabernet Francs with a complex, polished expression and characteristics which are totally unique to the Grand Vin of Léoville du Marquis de Las Cases and have been widely recognized for years.
Winery Website: domaines-delon.com
25 – Château La Fleur-Pétrus, Pomerol
Average Price: $230 – €197 – £174
Grape Varieties: Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot
Winery Website: moueix.com
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Also Read the Top 50 Most Expensive Wines in the World
This list of the Top 25 most expensive Bordeaux wines in the world was retrieved from the biggest wine price database in the world at Wine-Searcher.com as per November 2017, you can see the original list here. Note that to be included on the list, a wine must have at least 10 offers worldwide across at least four vintages. Prices are ex-tax worldwide averages for 750ml bottles.
Sources and References
Pricing Data from wine-searcher.com
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