Post date: Jul 27, 2011 12:22:20 PM
A private French collector has paid 75,000 pounds (123,000 US dollars) for a 200-year-old white wine, setting a new world record for a bottle of white wine sold commercially.
There aren't many wines that come with their own body guard.
But this isn't just any old drink - it's the world's most expensive bottle of white wine.
The 200 year-old Chateau d'Yquem was snapped up for £75,000 by French collector Christian Vanneque.
CHRISTIAN VANNEQUE, SOMMELIER AND PRIVATE WINE COLLECTOR, SAYING:"It is like getting acquainted with a lady who is 200 years old and I am quite shy. It is next to me and I just touched it earlier and it is quite humbling. I knew I had Napoleon's height and now I have something from his reign."
Fine wines have become a hot market for investors seeing an alternative to riskier stocks and shares.
Last year a 1947 French Cheval-Blanc, sold by Christie's in Geneva for 192,000 pounds.
Vanneque will put the wine on display in his new restaurant in Bali later this year.
But in six years time - after a 50-year career as a sommelier - he plans to share it with friends and family
Only then will he know whether the 200 year-old vintage has truly improved with age and if it was worth the £75,000 price tag.
Hayley Platt, Reuters.