The Wine Market Journal Announces the Top Appreciating Wines of 2025

New 2025 Data on Rare Wine Price Appreciation

VANCOUVER, Wash., Jan. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Wine Market Journal, the world's top resource for tracking the value of rare wines, has released its list of the top appreciating wines for 2025.

"Two thousand twenty-five was a challenging year for much of the alcohol industry, but high-end wines provided a very bright spot, with exceptional strength. The Wine Market Journal has been tracking the values of wines at the world's auction houses since 1997 and this is the second year we are releasing our list of the top appreciating wines," says David A. Parker, Publisher and Owner of The Wine Market Journal. "Rare wine as a class appreciated at 5-6%, about twice the rate of inflation and real estate in 2025, and wine collecting continued to be one of the most popular hobbies in the country. With many High Net Worth families listing a wine collection as a part of their investment portfolio, there was strong interest in updating the Top 10 list of appreciating wines we debuted last year. These exemplary wines and their performances provide visibility into the fascination and the potential return the hobby brings."

"We enhanced last year's methodology to formulate this list," said Peter Gibson, Editor and Lead Data Analyst of The Wine Market Journal. "Since rare wines trade less frequently than stocks, we first made sure to include only wines with enough activity in both 2024 and 2025 to get consistent averages. For wines less than 25 years old, we made sure a wine had at least six trades in each of 2024 and 2025 and an average price of at least $50. For those more than 25 years old, we only looked at wines that had at least four trades each in 2024 and 2025 and an average value of at least $75. Finally, since bottle condition varies so much for very old wines, we eliminated all wines older than 1961. All of our top 10 – make that 12 - wines appreciated at more than three times the rate of the stock market and faster than gold this year. As with last year, most of the winners are very well aged." To paraphrase a noted wine personality: "I don't have the time to age wine for 35 more years but I can buy those years." Unlike the California wines that dominated the list last year, most of this year's top appreciating wines are European. The new tariffs on European wine likely had something to do with that. Here are the winners.

Honorable mention (Number 12): Château Pavie Decesse 2003. Average auction hammer plus buyer's premium in 2024: $82, in 2025: $130. Average appreciation: 58%. This wine is generally considered a value among top regarded Bordeaux, and, with a score in the upper 90s from this hot vintage, is potentially attractive to those looking for very ripe, ready-to-drink Bordeaux. Even with the appreciation seen in 2025, the fact that Pavie Decesse 2003 is still affordable for drinking likely increased its appeal. 

Runner-Up (Number 11): Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Martha's Vineyard 1975. Average auction hammer plus buyer's premium in 2024: $452, in 2025: $720. Average appreciation: 59%. While the 1975 Heitz Martha's never had quite the reputation of the legendary 1974, it did receive 99 points from a top reviewer. With exactly 50 years of age, it was a clear top choice for an anniversary wine in 2025,

Number 10: Château Tirecul La Gravière Cuvée Madame 1995. Average auction hammer plus buyer's premium in 2024: $86, in 2025: $144. Average appreciation: 68%. The only white sweet wine to make our list this year, this double 100-point wine is approaching its ideal drinking window. Thirty years after the vintage, Tirecul La Gravière's Cuvée Madame is proving difficult to find, perhaps explaining the strong appreciation. Even though the bottle is only a 500ml, enough collectors must know and adore it to put it on this list.

Number 9: Château Cheval Blanc 1964. Average auction hammer plus buyer's premium in 2024: $782, in 2025: $1313. Average appreciation: 68%. As a top ranked right bank Bordeaux, Cheval Blanc is noted for being exceptional even in less than exceptional years. While the 1964 vintage in Bordeaux is not as highly regarded as, say, 1961, nor is it an upcoming anniversary year like 1966, collectors bid up the 1964 Cheval Blanc to record prices in 2025.

Number 8: Dow's Port Silver Jubilee 1977. Average auction hammer plus buyer's premium in 2024: $54, in 2025: $92. Average appreciation: 71%. Highlighting the broad appreciation vintage Port has enjoyed in the past year (the WMJ Port index is up almost 9% in 2025), Dow's Silver Jubilee bottling from the highly heralded 1977 vintage is still a bargain. Becoming popular as a short by-the-pour dessert wine at top bars and restaurants as well as the traditional winter by-the-fire tipple, Port from top vintages is clearly back on collectors' radar screens.

Number 7: Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche 1978. Average auction hammer plus buyer's premium in 2024: $8264, in 2025: $15,264. Average appreciation: 85%. The highest value wine in our list, the 1978 La Tâche highlights the huge appreciation that the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti enjoyed in 2025. The Wine Market Journal DRC index, tracking a mixed representative basket of more recent vintages from this producer, was its fastest appreciating index in 2025, up 13.5% for the year. The fact that La Tâche is one of the most named "desert island" wines by those in the know, 1978 is one of the most highly regarded vintages of red Burgundy, and this wine received 100 points from a top reviewer, may explain this wine's jump up from what one might consider already a lofty height to its highest value ever. It is likely that many consider this an investment wine.

Number 6: Château Haut Brion 1970. Average auction hammer plus buyer's premium in 2024: $244, in 2025: $388. Average appreciation: 86%. This first growth Bordeaux, while not from one of the most critically-acclaimed vintages, demonstrates the strength mature Bordeaux has enjoyed in 2025. Like Port and DRC, we can now say clearly that Bordeaux is back on top in 2025. This may also be regarded as something of a value buy, and perhaps a 55^th anniversary gift wine too.

Number 5: Château La Mission Haut Brion 1966. Average auction hammer plus buyer's premium in 2024: $244, in 2025: $462. Average appreciation: 89%. Another top Bordeaux from a very good, if not generally considered exceptional, vintage, this wine is a crowd favorite. Like its fellow 1966 wines on this list, these may have benefitted from its impending 60th anniversary.

Number 4: The Napa Valley Reserve 2013. Average auction hammer plus buyer's premium in 2024: $164, in 2025: $312. Average appreciation: 90%. Here's a rarity that we're seeing more of. Although initially released only to members of The Napa Valley Reserve, which discourages sales of their wine to third parties, these bottles are appearing at auction more and more frequently. The youngest wine on our list, and one of only two California wines, this is clearly gaining popularity in the secondary market.

Number 3: Château Palmer 1966. Average auction hammer plus premium in 2024: $501, in 2025: $985. Average appreciation: 97%. The second classified left bank Bordeaux from the 1966 vintage to make our list, this Third Growth often outshines its First Growth neighbor, Château Margaux, especially in the 1960's. With reviewer scores in the upper 90s, it's likely to still be drinking well. Here again, we see the effect of an approaching anniversary year. A savvy investment indeed.

Number 2: Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Cuvee Vieilles Vignes 1966. Average auction hammer plus buyer's premium in 2024: $2286, in 2025: $4735. Average appreciation: 107%. The second highest value wine on this list, alongside the 1978 La Tache, this wine emphasizes that Grand Cru red Burgundy is back to appreciating after several years of correction. This wine may be another example of one that's being heavily bid up for use as a 60^th anniversary wine in 2026, appreciating almost as much as silver during the year.

Number 1: Château Cos d'Estournel 1961. Average auction hammer plus buyer's premium in 2024: $316, in 2025: $880. Average appreciation: 179%. Almost tripling in value during the year, this "Super Second" left bank Bordeaux from the heralded 1961 vintage is still a relatively affordable wine. Scoring the mid to upper 90's, it will likely still drink well and be an ideal 65th anniversary wine next year.

These top 12 wines are by no means the only ones to appreciate meaningfully in 2025. Over 340 wines that met our criteria for inclusion appreciated more than the stock market's 18% rise, and over 1680 beat the 2.7% inflation rate. And while a great many didn't keep up with inflation and many even declined in value, the wine market is notoriously variable. One year's poor performers may be the next year's stars. Certainly, we can see some trends this year, with European wines and anniversary wines proving notably strong. And 100-point wines are always collectors' darlings. But the joy of collecting wine goes beyond the profit motive, to the unique social and artistic aspects of the product. To quote a top collector. "Some wines go up in value. Some go down my throat. They both bring pleasure."

While live wine auctions are closed for the Holidays, online auctions like www.brentwoodwine.com are open, with three auctions every week. Top retailers that specialize in rare and back vintage wine like www.benchmarkwine.com, www.benchmarkwineandspirits.com and www.winespectrum.com are other good sources.

About The Wine Market Journal: The world's top authority for rare wine valuation, The Wine Market Journal tracks virtually every trade of every rare wine at almost every live and internet auction in the world. With over 6 million auction trades back to 1985 as well as over 2 million retail trades and a huge scores database, no other resource comes close. Used by virtually all auction houses, rare wine retailers and serious collectors, as well major information providers like CellarTracker!, it is the industry's de facto standard.

Brentwood Auctions, Benchmark Wine Group, Benchmark Wine and Spirits and Wine Spectrum are affiliates of First Growth Technologies, which publishes The Wine Market Journal and the Spirits Market Journal.

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SOURCE The Wine Market Journal