Commentary: Aren't any Paul Massons, Mogen Davids on this list

Trolling through the major news-related Web sites last week, I came across a link on msn.com for a story about the 10 most expensive bottles of wine.

The story had a link to a slide show on forbestraveler.com showing pictures and descriptions of the best-of-the-best uber- expensive fermented grape juices.

Wine aficionado I'm not. Heck, I usually end up giving away two of my four drink tickets at the Fine Arts Center's First Thursday wine tastings in favor of a cold barley-pop.

But I do know that there are folks who take this wine thing very seriously, so in an effort to appeal to as broad a base as possible, and just in case there are any wine lovers out there who missed the story or the link, here's the list, and the accompanying descriptions (as if by this point anyone would think that I could have actually written them):

*1787 Chateau Lafitte, December 1985, Christie's, London, $156,450

After Christopher Forbes outbid Marvin Shanken, publisher of the Wine Spectator, he brought this bottle back to Forbes Collection on 5th Avenue. Though its provenance has been debated (it was believed to belong to the estate of Thomas Jefferson), it remains the world auction record holder for a bottle of wine.

*1787 Chateau d'Yquem, February 2006, Antique Wine Co., London, $100,000

Those worshiping sweet wines made from Chenin Blanc often scorn the most famous of all stickies, Chateau d'Yquem, made from semillon. However, it's hard to question its auction performance. Other top d'Yquems include $71,675 for an 1847 and $42,504 for an 1812 - possibly to drink with the eponymous overture in the background?

*1951 Penfolds Grange Hermitage, May 2004, Melbourne, Australia, $50,200 Australian dollars (roughly $38,420 U.S.)

This is winemaker Max Schubert's bold experiment that put Australian Shiraz on the map. His boss was less than charmed by the first few vintages. Nevertheless, Schubert continued to make the wine, eventually winning over his hard-to-please employer, as well as the rest of the world.

*1947 Cheval Blanc (three-liter bottle), Vinfolio, San Francisco, July 2006, $33,781.25 per 750 ml bottle. ($135,125 for the three- liter bottle)

The St. Emilion property Cheval Blanc contains a hefty dose of difficult-to-ripen Cabernet Franc grapes. However, the year 1947 was hot and dry. According to the head of Christie's wine auction department, Michael Broadbent, it's still a brawny mouthful.

*1945 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild, Christie's Los Angeles, September 2006, $28,750 per bottle (a six-magnum case was bought for $345,000)

Michael Broadbent waxed poetic about this vintage, summing it up as "a glorious mouthful." By his account, 1945 was one of the best vintages in the last century. During that year, however, the Mouton was classified as a second growth, not as the first it is today. The magnum bought this past fall should be a great tipple: youthful and powerful. We should all have such good genes.

*1978 Montrachet Domaine de la Romanee Conti, Sotheby's, New York, 2001, $23,929 per bottle

As winesearcher.com shows, you can grab the 1978 for $6,000 at Park Avenue Wine & Spirits. It remains a mystery why this went for so much money during the 2001 slump, even if it is the only white wine property from DRC in a very good year. Be warned: Much bottle variation is reported on this gorgeous wine in this particular vintage, from dreary to sublime.

*1934 DRC Romanee Conti, Hart Davis Hart, Chicago, June 2006, $20,145 per bottle

The DRC Duvault-Blochet is a 1er Cru wine from grand cru grapes, and there were only three vintages ever made: 1934, 1999 and 2002. Driving the price up even further on this rare wine was a pre- auction tasting note from Allen Meadows (aka The Burghound) and a score of 99, giving the stunning wine impeccable credentials.

*1941 Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, Zachys Los Angeles auction, October 2004, $24,675 per bottle

Francis Ford Coppola keeps one of these (empty) on top of his refrigerator. "It was one of the best I'd ever had," he said about the wine, which set the record for a Californian. How did it taste? "There is a signature violet and rose petal aroma that completes this amazingly well-preserved, robust wine that had just finished fermentation at the time of Pearl Harbor."

*2003 Romanee Conti, $4,650 per bottle

There is tremendous competition to snare bottles from this, DRC's most exalted vineyard. Jamie Wolff, partner in Chambers Street Wines and Spirits, advises that you can't just walk off the street with your credit card expecting to buy a bottle, however. "There's not a lot to go around. They're for my loyal customers."

*2005 Chateau Petrus, $3,176 per bottle

Take your number and get on line for the most hyped Bordeaux vintage in recent memory. The price on this wine is even more shocking. After all, in the wake of "Sideways," didn't Merlot go out of style? Jamie Wolff, however, says that if you can find yourself a case of this wine, you can do no better.