Bordeaux first growth

• The land the vines grow on$11–$44
• Bottle, cork, label and box$5–$13
• Farming the vines for a year$3–$10
• Money tied up while it ages$2–$11
• Running the winery$3–$7
• Making the wine$2–$5
• Ageing it in the cellar$1–$3
• Oak barrels$1–$2

The cost of one bottle, at the winery door. Our models are built in US dollars and shown in your chosen currency. The shop price comes later, after the merchant, the importer, the shop and the taxman have each added their share.

• There is no more land. A famous vineyard cannot get any bigger, however many people want the wine.
• The name. Decades of reputation, which buyers are willing to pay for.
• Time. With an older bottle you are paying someone for the years they stored it.
• Everyone in between. The merchant, the importer and the shop each add a margin.
• More buyers than bottles. The same number of bottles every year, and the whole world wanting them.

What the wineries charge

The last column is the opening price divided by our highest estimate of what the bottle costs to make.

Wine	Year	Opening price	Price ÷ cost to make
Château Cheval Blanc	2025	≈$376	3.9× at a rough exchange rate
Château Lafite Rothschild	2025	≈$376	3.9× at a rough exchange rate
Château Mouton Rothschild	2025	≈$336	3.5× at a rough exchange rate
Château Cheval Blanc	2024	≈$309	3.2× at a rough exchange rate
Château Lafite Rothschild	2024	≈$322	3.3× at a rough exchange rate
Château Margaux	2024	≈$309	3.2× at a rough exchange rate
Château Mouton Rothschild	2024	≈$282	2.9× at a rough exchange rate
Château Cheval Blanc	2023	≈$430	4.4× at a rough exchange rate
Château Haut-Brion	2023	≈$349	3.6× at a rough exchange rate
Château Lafite Rothschild	2023	≈$443	4.6× at a rough exchange rate

The numbers we used

The winery we pictured: A Médoc first growth growing its own fruit on Pauillac/Margaux land, 100% new oak, 18–22 months in barrel, hand harvest and optical sorting.

What	Low	High	Unit	Source
Bottling	0.40	0.90	USD/bottle	Bottling line quotes
Case and packaging	1.00	3.50	USD/bottle	Supplier price lists
Aging before release	1.50	1.85	years	Estate technical sheets
Uses per barrel before sale	3.00	5.00	uses	Corkonomics assumption
Yield	30	45	hl/ha	Estate technical sheets
New French oak barrel	900	1,450	USD/barrel	Cooperage price lists 2025
Evaporation, topping and losses	0.03	0.06	share	Corkonomics assumption
Share of new oak	0.90	1.00	share	Producer technical notes
Financing over the aging period	0.04	0.07	rate	Corkonomics assumption
Cost of capital applied to land	0.03	0.05	rate	Corkonomics assumption
Bottle, closure, capsule, label	3.50	9.00	USD/bottle	Supplier price lists
Vineyard land value (imputed at a cost of capital, not purchased)	2,200,000	3,300,000	USD/ha	SAFER 2024
Vineyard farming cost	16,500	33,000	USD/ha/year	Trade reporting on Médoc estate costs
Hand harvest and sorting	2,750	5,500	USD/ha	Trade reporting on Médoc estate costs
Winery overhead (staff, insurance, compliance, depreciation)	3.00	7.00	USD/bottle	Corkonomics assumption
Cellar space, topping, monitoring	0.80	1.60	USD/bottle/year	Corkonomics assumption
Winemaking and cellar labour	2.50	5.00	USD/bottle	Corkonomics assumption