Almost every adult tastes alcoholic beverages from time to time. Most often they belong to the budget category, occasionally – to the middle price segment, in exceptional cases – to the group of expensive collection alcohol.
Elite wines were tasted only by rare lucky ones. The cost of such products is measured in thousands of dollars: moreover, it can be either 2-3 thousand or several tens.
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What drinks are classified as elite
In addition to the high price, these wines stand out among the rest of the alcohol from grapes with their excellent quality and taste, as well as the preservation of special manufacturing traditions.
Among the important factors influencing the reckoning of drinks to the elite category, the following are distinguished:
Manual collection of raw materials
And not in any place, but in the most favorable regions for growing vines, in certain years, which are considered Great for winemakers.
Long exposure
For some drinks, it is more than 200 years old.
Relatively “young” in the elite group is considered to be products with a 20-year shelf life.
Some wines have already overcome the period of possible tasting and cannot be used for their intended purpose, but nevertheless fall into this category.
Compliance with a special education system
It involves: many years of aging in high quality oak barrels, replacing them with new ones every 4 years to remove sediment, clarification by filtration, the use of cooling to get rid of tartar, long rest and aging in bottles under strictly specified conditions.
In fact, the birth of elite wines is a real mystery that combines the painstaking work of winemakers, the influence of favorable weather conditions, the use of excellent quality raw materials, long aging and the obligatory presence of an additional factor in the form of unforeseen accidents.
It is impossible to plan the creation of such a drink, but venerable producers have a couple of secrets that, with a good combination of circumstances, make it possible to obtain products worthy of the title of the best.
Where are fine wines produced?
France
Of course, most of the outstanding products are created in France, famous for the most expensive drinks.
Only wines from the AOC class can be classified as elite in the country – this is the highest level in the classification of local drinks.
It implies that the products were made in a certain region using a certain technology from grapes of a certain variety.
Sometimes raw materials for elite wines are harvested in a specific part of the vineyard.
Very few beverages are included in this category: before they fall into it, products must pass rigorous testing by regulatory authorities to confirm high quality.
Of the 10 elite wines, usually only 7-9 are of French origin. They are produced mainly in Bordeaux.
Italy
Among the permanent lists of “special” drinks, Italy can also be noted, which adheres to a similar classification of wines.
The highest category among Italian drinks is considered to be products of the DOCG class. It corresponds to the French quality AOC. The wines from Piedmont and Tuscany are most valued.
Other countries
In addition to the two most famous suppliers of elite products, winemakers from Australia, the USA (Napa Valley), Spain, Germany, Portugal, and Argentina create outstanding specimens.
As for the producers of the post-Soviet region, Massandra and Georgian wines, as well as old specimens from the Russian Empire, appear in the “VIP list” from time to time.
For example, one of the Crimean wines (“Massandra” of 1775) was sold for a record amount of 43,5 thousand dollars.
Among Georgian drinks, aged Tsinandali is the most valued.
Where to buy elite wines
In Russia, you can find such products in niche alcoholic boutiques, usually in the same place you can place an order for more exclusive bottles of wine.
In the world, elite drinks are purchased at prestigious auctions (Christie’s, Sotheby’s, etc.).
The final cost of individual specimens can reach huge amounts, so the purchase of such products is more likely to be a cash investment than a simple purchase of wine for one’s own consumption.
most expensive wines in the world
Relevance: 10.10.2018
Tags: wine and vermouth