Dr Vino's wine blog

All of a sudden it seems like wine is made for the bling bling lifestyle. A couple of weeks ago, Jay-Z flushed one $300 bottle of Champagne and switched to another.

Then I got this email from a NYC retailer about the availability of these wines from Bordeaux 2005:

Latour, $9500 per case, 98-100pts WA
Cheval Blanc, $8999 per case, 95-98pts WA
Margaux, $8999 per case, 96-100pts WA
Lafite Rothschild, $7500 per case, 95-100pts WS

But enough about that since I have already droned on and on about it. I spotted this article about the new super rich “ultra high net worth individuals” in the Belfast Telegraph. In between private jets, $150 Wegyu beef sandwiches, yachts, and Bentleys, there’s (almost) always room for some bling bling wine:

The new Bordeaux vintage is proving to be a big draw for Russian and Chinese tycoons who have developed a new interest in the grape, but again, the problem is supply. Chateaux Ausone is selling en primeur (ie rough and not ready) for £6,000 a case. “We could buy 100 cases and sell out in 20 minutes,” a Berry Bros spokesman said.

But come on billionaires! Don’t just settle for a few $10,000 cases of wine, buy the whole vineyard! Don’t keep up with the Jonses, blow them away! Build a Gehry-designed winery!

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Coincidentally, Al Brounstein of Diamond Creek, the man who perhaps brought cult wine to America, died this week. Frank Prial’s obit had this little nugget:

His first vintage was in 1972. His first vintage of Lake, in 1978, sold for $100 a bottle, a price then unheard of. Later vintages sold for up to $300 a bottle when better-known Napa wines might bring $70. Once asked why he charged so much, Mr. Brounstein said, “Because I can get it.”

tags: wine | bling bling | ultra high net worth