€14,000 Burgundy is dearest wine

A RARE Burgundy vintage has been crowned the world's most expensive wine, commanding a price tag of €14,254 a bottle.

The Richebourg Grand Cru, from Henri Jayer winery in the Côtes-de-Nuits, came top in the latest ranking of the world's priciest vintages by Wine Searcher, a site specialising in wine valuations.

Henri Jayer, who died in 2006, was considered a visionary winemaker - believing in small-scale production and opposed to the use of chemicals.

His wine beat another Burgundy long-time favourite, Domaine de La Romanée-Conti, which took second place on €12,169.

Wines from the Burgundy vineyards - which have just been awarded Unesco world heritage status - occupied 40 of the top 50 positions.

The Burgundy grands crus command higher prices than their Bordeaux rivals because they are generally produced in smaller quantities - a few thousand bottles compared to tens of thousands. They are in high demand by collectors, especially the Asian market.

The research is based on price lists from nearly 55,000 wine merchants, distributors and producers around the world - which between them have over seven million bottles.

Only three wines from outside France made the top 50 price ranking - two German and one from California.