At £111,000 a ‘bottle’, this is one red you won’t be taking to a dinner party
Every time one of the ampoules is opened, the buyer will be visited by a senior Penfolds winemaker for a ‘special opening ceremony’
The glass ampoule and its case have been designed and created by a pair of master glass blowers, specifically to keep the 750ml of wine in perfect condition.
It looks like something Robert Pattinson’s Twilight character would keep in his vault, but this gothic creation is in fact the most expensive wine in the world (not counting antique champagnes dredged up from the Titanic).
A product of Penfolds’ vineyard in South Australia, the 2004 Block 42 is named after the specific area of the vineyard where its grapes are harvested, which Penfolds claims to be home to the oldest continuously producing Cabernet Sauvignon vines in the world.
The tasting notes for the Block 42 describe the wine as having an ‘intense blackcurrant, chocolate and liquorice aroma’.
Penfolds recommends that it be drunk before 2030, and that it should accompany a hearty, meat dish.
Twelve of the ampoules, as they are known, will be sold for a colossal £111,000 each – and every time one is opened, the buyer will be visited by a senior Penfolds winemaker for a ‘special opening ceremony’, where he will prepare it for serving, first by snapping open the ampoule with a tungsten-tipped silver scribe-snap, then pouring it into a sterling silver cup known as a tastevin.
Cheers!
Source: Daily Mail