Record-breaking wine sale: 1945 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti fetches $812,500

A legendary bottle of 1945 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti has sold at auction for a staggering $812,500, setting a new world record. The sale took place during the annual La Paulée auction, hosted by Acker, the world’s largest wine auction house and the oldest wine merchant in the United States.

According to Forbes, the sale surpassed the previous record set in 2018, when a similar bottle sold for $558,000 — an increase of nearly 50%. Acker representatives say the transaction cements the 1945 vintage as “the most coveted wine in collecting history.”

“We made history this weekend,” said John Kapon, Chairman of Acker. Kapon revealed he has tasted the 1945 Romanée-Conti only three times in his life and considers it the greatest wine ever produced. He called the auction a celebration of Burgundy, bringing together top producers and collectors from around the globe.

The buyer’s identity remains private, though the bottle came from the cellar of Robert Drouhin, one of Burgundy’s most esteemed winemakers who ran Maison Joseph Drouhin for nearly 50 years.

What makes this bottle unique is not only its age but also its provenance. It is the last vintage produced before Romanée-Conti replanted its oldest vines, which had survived both World Wars. The vineyard produces exclusively red wines, mostly Pinot Noir, with annual production of only 5–6,000 bottles. The 1945 vintage yielded roughly 600 bottles, explaining its extreme rarity.

Additionally, this wine is classified as pre-phylloxera, meaning the grapes were harvested from vines vulnerable to the insect that devastated European vineyards in the late 19th century.

Experts praise the wine for its “unmatched depth and complexity,” emphasizing that it is more than a drink — it is a historic treasure.