“Red wine is a great accompaniment to meat,” Mario Lemieux, a retired Canadian professional hockey player and wine collector, once said. Well, Mario, especially if the red wine is way far more expensive than the meat you are gorging on.Over the years, the prices of some red wines have stolen the limelight away from the wine itself. Whether because of an iconic label, a former famous owner, or just simply a rare and highly valuable vintage, the wines in this list are surely some of the most lavish liquid purchases in the entire history.Buying any of the wines on this list would make most of us declare bankruptcy. However, if you have the money or the mood to buy a really expensive bottle then here are some of the most expensive and finest red wines in the world.This is not a definitive list admittedly, as the items here are sold differently: some are sold per bottle, jeroboam, or double-magnum.The wine market, please take note, has a lot of intermediaries which may have a direct effect on the prices.

Importers, wholesalers, as well as retailers are in the market to make a profit, so prices of wines may change depending on which level you’re dealing with. In addition, the prices of wines in auctions generally get out of hand and may result in heftier price tags.red wine book clubConsidered one of the best vintages ever produced by its estate, 2009 Chateau Margaux’s three 12-liter bottles are offered for US$195,000 by exclusive wine merchant Le Clos in Dubai International Airport.Only six Balthazars have been produced, and only three of them are up for sale; top 10 wine in india with priceall available exclusively through Le Clos. what wine goes best with bbqIt is housed in a grand case of oak and raised on steel legs, with beautiful gold engravings by master craftsmen.red wine glass luxury

It is quite amazing that this wine, which has around 750 ml in every bottle, is authenticated to be just 150 years old. If you want a bottle of this wine, feel free to shell out around $ 24,577 (that excludes tax, of course). wine on tap canadaHowever, if you are really feeling magnanimous and want a double-magnum bottle of the wine, you can have it for just around $124,469.In 2006, a double magnum of this wine was sold for a record $111,625 at a Sotheby’s auction. wine bar nyc dateThe average price per glass? best wine for tasting menuAbout $4,650.This wine enjoys the good reputation of the world’s finest Pinot Noir. wine of fire orangeProduction is limited due to the strict yields but also because of the desire to capture the luscious fruit flavors in the berries. wine and food delivery nyc

This wine is produced on a tiny parcel of land where vines are on the average over 50 years old.In 1996, eight bottles of this elegant wine were sold at Sotheby’s for US $224,900. The average price for a bottle of this wine is $20,975.The average price for a 750 ml bottle of this wine is $16,992. In 2007, a jeroboam of this wine, regarded as one of the greatest vintages of the previous century—was sold to a bidder at Sotheby’s New York. An astounding $310,700 or almost $77,675 per 750-ml bottle. A decade earlier, a jeroboam of this fine wine was bought by an anonymous bidder at Christie’s, London. The $114,614 price-tag is almost equal to $23,000 per 750 ml.Sold in 2004 for $24,675, this Cabernet is owned by Francis Ford Coppola. According to Coppola himself it was one of the best he’d ever had. “There is a signature violet and rose petal aroma that completes this amazingly well-preserved, robust wine that had just finished fermentation at the time of Pearl Harbor.” he said.

One of the most expensive wines in the world, Cheval Blanc 1947 enjoys the privileged status of being one of only two wines that have been awarded the Class A status in the Classification of Saint-Emilion wine. In 2006, a three-liter bottle of this fine wine was bought at Vinfolio in San Francisco for $135,125 ($33,781 per 750 ml).At $38,420 per bottle, Penfolds Grange Hermitage 1951 is considered the most expensive Australian wine. According to reports, there are just 20 bottles of this wine that exists at present. In May 2004, a wine collector in Adelaide shelled out a cool AUS$50,200 for a bottle at an auction house.A bottle of Chateau Lafite 1787 that was linked to Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, was sold to Malcolm Forbes in 1985 for $160,000. Despite issues over the provenance of the wine and link to Jefferson, this wine is among the most expensive single bottles of wine ever sold.Known as the most expensive wine never to be sold, this wine’s initial price was around $500,000.

It was authenticated to be once part of the wine collection of Thomas Jefferson.Chateau Margaux 1787 was accidentally shattered in a Margaux Dinner by a waiter who knocked the bottle over and broke it. Insurers paid out around $225,000.This is the Grand Royale of all the most expensive wines out there. In a Napa valley wine auction in 2000, this wine got the highest bid, with a whopping price tag of around $500,000.One wine connoisseur described the wine as: “Exceptionally impressive. Sensational nose of jammy blackcurrants and subtle toasty oak. Stunningly proportioned, ripe, intense fruit, full body, great purity… inner-core of sweet, creamy, highly extracted blackcurrant/cassis fruit. Category: Financial News, Money & Entertainment Before you conclude that I have a fixation about New World wines (not difficult to do!) it's only fair to take a look at French wines -- which, after all, have tended to define wine for most of the past 100 years.France produces the most wine of any country -- at last count some 5.9 billion litres.

While wine consumption in France itself has been falling for several years, they still put away about 56 litres per capita -- which, if one was to exclude children and non-drinkers, works out to at least two bottles per head per week!In 2004, France exported about 1.6 billion litres of wine valued at $6.9 billion -- which is almost equal (in value) to that of the next three largest wine exporting countries (Italy, Australia and Spain) put together.The best French wines are just fantastic -- both in quality as well as price. A magazine recently listed the "10 greatest wines ever produced", and nine were French: Chateau Petrus 1961, Ch Cheval Blanc 1947, Ch D'Yquem 1921, Ch Margaux 1900, Romanee Conti Montrachet 1937, Ch Mouton-Rothschild 1945, Ch Haut-Brion 1929, Ch Latour 1990 and Ch Lafleur 1982. While wines from these estates would range from at least Rs 10,000 to several lakhs per bottle, there is poetry and prestige in sampling the heavenly nectar of any one of them! And who hasn't heard the story of the six young investment bankers (including two Indians) who celebrated a deal by splashing out a record �44,000 (Rs 35 lakh) on just three bottles of wine (all from Ch Petrus) at a London restaurant!

(They all were fired later, but that's another story).In India, French wines are generally found at five-star hotels and better restaurants, most of which list a high-priced range of champagnes and wines from Bordeaux, Burgundy, and the Rhone and Loire valleys. The Imperial (New Delhi) was offering Dom Perignon 1995 at Rs 9,000 and Bordeaux for Chateau Lagrange at between Rs 5,000-9,000 per bottle; The Grand Maratha (Mumbai) has a Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1997 at Rs 30,000 and a Cheval Blanc 1993 at Rs 35,000. Prices at most of these establishments tend to be high because, even though they get their wines duty free, their mark-ups vary from 200-500 per cent.The French wine the most commonly available at retail shops seem to be the table wines from Georges Duboeuf (Rs 550-650) as well as the varietals from Michel Laroche (Rs 650-750); Sula markets a very decent range from Fortant de France at Rs 900-1,000, as well as the Michel Lynch Bordeaux at Rs 1,200-1,300, while the Tallian Bordeaux rouge from Indage (a 'bottled in India' wine) at Rs 450-600 is value for money.

Some years back Delhi-ites were freaking out on table wines from Barton & Gustier -- then available at Rs 350 per bottle in the grey market -- but that source seems to have now dried up.However, the range of French wines available on retail shelves is overshadowed by offerings from the New World (principally Australia and Chile). The problem with French wines is that they tend to be either very good (and very expensive) or not so good (but still expensive, in relation to wines from elsewhere).There are fewer large French vintners or wine companies than their counterparts from the US or Australia, and these have shied away from entering the complex and still small Indian market except through importers or traders. It is telling that even Moet Hennessy (which has the definitive range of champagnes in Krug, Moet & Chandon, Veuve Cliquot and Dom Perignon) markets only one French still wine here.For now, one looks forward to better French wines being available at more approachable prices - till then, � votre sant�!