The new world record for the Most Expensive Wine has just set. Prestigious Australian winery Penfolds debuted its 2004 Block 42, the special edition of Cabernet Sauvignon, which is priced at Aus$168,000 (US$170,350) per bottle.
There are at least two reasons why this wine is so special: it is produced from a single vineyard, from what the winery claims are the oldest continuously producing Cabernet Sauvignon vines in the world, but also Penfolds 2004 Block 42 comes completely encased in a futurist-looking, glass ampoule with no cork or screwcap.
The world’s most expensive wine is limited to just 12 ampoule-shaped bottles, hand-blown by Nick Mount (a famous glass artist from Adelaide, Australia), to preserve the pricey grapes, and is suspended within a wooden jarrah cabinet. Each bottle contains 750ml of this rare red wine.
When each bottle is sold, Penfolds’ chief winemaker Peter Gago will fly out to the destination and open it in a special ceremony.
“Behind every Penfolds wine is the joy, energy, research and science that shapes it. The Ampoule Project is typical of the pioneering philosophy behind Penfolds’ winemaking evolution.The collaboration with South Australia’s finest artists has been a fitting tribute for one of South Australia’s finest wines,” Gago said.
If the 750ml bottle costs $170,350, it’s not difficult to calculate that for the 150ml glass, you’ll have to pay $32,800. Is it really worth that much?
