Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1945

A bottle of Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1945 sold for $310,700 at Christie's in 1997, setting a then-world record for a single bottle of Bordeaux, surpassing the 1787 Chateau Margaux Jefferson bottle's ($225,000) earlier high. The 1945 vintage is considered the greatest year in Bordeaux history — produced in the summer of Germany's defeat, the vines absorbed a heat wave that concentrated sugars to extraordinary levels, yielding 14.2% alcohol. Mouton's label features a victory 'V' designed by Philippe Jullian. Parker awarded it a perfect 100 points, calling it one of the two or three greatest wines he had ever tasted — a rating given to fewer than 0.5% of wines he has reviewed.