Bottle of Chateau d’Yquem Wine Fetches $117,000 at Auction


Christian Vanneque, a former sommelier purchased a bottle of Chateau d’Yquem from 1811 for $117,000, beating out the previous record of $100,000 for the same type of wine in 2006.

d’Yquem 1811 was created in the “comet year” in which legend has it the appearance of a comet in the sky helped produce superior wine.

Vanneque will display the bottle at his new Indonesian wine bar in a “bulletproof showcase” giving it the feeling of a fine work of art. He says of his plans:

“This showcase will be temperature- and humidity-controlled. It’ll be a mini-Fort Knox.”

The bottle won’t be there forever, he says in 2017 he’ll crack open the bottle of wine and enjoy it in celebration of his careers 50th anniversary.

“I will never resell it, even if a wealthy Chinese gentleman or a rich man from the Middle East offers to buy it,” he said. “I’m not a fancy collector. I’m not rich. … I’m a sommelier. Wine is for drinking.”

If I was Vanneque I would be drinking that bottle of wine by myself or charging my friends $30,000 per glass. It would be awfully funny if the wine was open and tasted like rotten grapes and dirt.

Share this article: Bottle of Chateau d’Yquem Wine Fetches $117,000 at Auction
More from Inquisitr