La Romanée: Twelve wines from 1865

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Wines can be expensive, and an auction in Geneva showed how expensive

Photo: PIERRE ANDRIEU / AFP

At the auction of rare and old wines in Geneva, twelve wines from the French La Romanée growing region alone achieved the equivalent of around 1.76 million euros.

The Grand Cru wines from Burgundy are "close to perfection," said the auction house Baghera Wines at the auction on Sunday.

The twelve bottles were filled in 1865.

Like the other wines auctioned in Geneva, they come from the Bouchard Père et Fils winery.

The auction in Switzerland raised a total of around 8.7 million euros for 1819 bottles, 106 magnum bottles and a large Jeroboam bottle.

The wines were produced between 1862 and 2005.

The most expensive single bottle in the auction, also a La Romanée, was auctioned for 182,000 euros.

The managing director of the auction house, Michael Ganne, praised the AFP news agency for the “impeccable know-how” of the French winery, which justifies such top prices.

Smallest Grand Cru region in Burgundy

With only around 3,600 bottles produced per year, this Grand Cru from central France is one of the most sought-after in the world.

The only 0.85 hectare La Romanée vineyard is the smallest Grand Cru region in Burgundy and the smallest vineyard in the world that is allowed to label its wines with the protective seal of Appelation d'origine controlée (AOC).

The AOC requires, among other things, a consistently traditional production, and the ingredients must come from a specific region.

The designation Appelation d'Origine Contrôlée is a license to sell the wines for a lot of money.

hba / AFP