Rare 1945 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti wine sells for record ₹7.63 crore at Acker auction – Here's why it's special
The 1945 wine is special because it is the last wine made before Romanée-Conti replanted its oldest vines.
AT an auction on Manhattan's Upper West Side last weekend, a single bottle of 1945 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti sold for a record-breaking $812,500 (₹7.63 crore).
The sale took place during the annual La Paulée auction hosted by Acker, the oldest wine merchant in America and the world's largest fine wine auction house.
According to a Forbes report, the sale of the 1945 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti bottle broke the former world record for the most expensive bottle sold at auction by nearly 50%.
A bottle of the same 1945 vintage beverage had set the record in the 2018 La Paulée auction, selling for $558,000.
In a statement, a representative from Acker said that this pretty penny of a purchase “cement(s) the 1945 vintage as the most coveted bottle in the history of wine collecting.”
‘We made history’: Acker
“We made history this weekend,” John Kapon, chairman of Acker, told Business Wire. “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.”
Kapon said that the event this weekend “exemplified the soul and spirit of Burgundy” — “bringing together the world’s top producers and collectors and creating the perfect conditions for a truly historic result.”
Who brought the record-breaking wine bottle?
Acker did not disclose who purchased the record-breaking wine bottle, but it shared that the vino was initially sourced from the personal cellar of Robert Drouhin, The Post reported.
Drouhin is one of the most noted names in Burgundy and has run the French wine house Maison Joseph Drouhin for nearly half a century.
Why was this wine special?
According to The Post, the 1945 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti was a standout because it is the last wine made before Romanée-Conti replanted its oldest vines, which had survived both world wars.
The vineyard only produces red wine, mainly from the pinot noir grape, and makes between 5,000 and 6,000 bottles annually. However, only around 600 of their annual production was of the 1945 variety.
What makes this 1945 wine more special is that it falls in the category of pre-phylloxera, i.e. it was produced using grapes sourced from vines that weren’t designed to be resistant to phylloxera.
Phylloxera is an insect that demolished a large portion of vineyards in Europe during the late 19th century.
Connoisseurs have lauded this wine for having an “unmatched” depth and complexity.
