What is the best wine in the world?
Establishing the best wine in the world is not a simple task either. Everyone has their own tastes, which makes it difficult to come to an agreement. However, experts’ opinions are often highly regarded, especially when they have solid and recognized judgement. This is precisely what cemented the decision of American critic James Suckling.
After tasting over 4,000 wines from around the globe, he came to the conclusion that the greatest wine in the world came from Spain. This expert’s opinion appeared in the prestigious Wine Spectator publication in 2023. For him, the Castillo Ygay is the ultimate wine. This winning wine, from the Marqués de Murrieta winery (which belongs to the D.O. Rioja) was awarded a score of 100, the highest possible score.
More specifically, the wine granted this very prestigious distinction was produced in the 2012 vintage, although this wasn’t the first time. Castillo Ygay has achieved the full 100 points from different experts on up to 15 occasions. For example, the critic Robert Parker assigned the maximum score to a Castillo Ygay 1986 white wine made by the Marqués de Murrieta winery, with a price of €1,167. Even so, this doesn’t make it the most expensive white wine in the world. If we want to find the world’s most expensive wine, we’ll have to look to Germany and the Egon Müller winery. Their white wines, made with the Riesling grape variety and rigorously worked and selected, take home the title for the most expensive white wines in the world with a production of just a few hundred bottles. A bottle of Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Beerenauslese 2015 is a great reserve which reached a price of €29,050, unquestionably making it the most expensive white wine in the world.
How much does the most expensive Spanish wine cost?
The most expensive Spanish wine is sure to surprise you with its unique features. This wine is produced in the Aurum Red wineries, under Hilario García, who has added a new twist to the production process. One of the changes introduced is the use of ozone to treat the water or the vines themselves. This, and 100 other treatments, ensures that the final product does not turn to vinegar once opened, at least according to this winemaker.
Another of the key aspects that make Aurum Red wines the most expensive in Spain is its range. The winery offers five series, each with their own particularities, although they all share a limited number of bottles. For example, only 6,000 Silver Series wines are produced per year, as the production process takes at least a decade.
However, no series could stand up to the Gold Series, whose characteristics are truly unique. This is a wine made from indigenous Tempranillo grapes, the fruit of hundred-year-old grape strains. At the end of the production process, which takes many years of aging, a maximum of 300 bottles are obtained per year. From these, only 150 are sold, at a price of €1,250.
Though other Spanish wines exceed this price, such as those produced by Domino de Pingus, Aurum Red also launched a unique edition on the market, valued at €340,000, making it the most expensive wine in Spain in price per unit (though not by price/liter). The reason for its high cost is very simple: this is a 16-liter bottle, equivalent to 20 bottles of the Gold Series. This bottle was created for a charity auction and the proceeds were donated to the Anidan NGO, operating in Lamu, Kenya.
What’s more, the wine produced at Aurum Red has significant organoleptic qualities. Its aroma changes depending on which way you turn the glass. If you turn it to the right, you’ll pick up hints of fig bread, ripe dried fruits or spices. To the left, subtle and elegant notes with less alcohol power appear. When it comes to taste, it has a range that varies from freshness to an accentuated astringency that you can feel on your tongue.
