Can anybody guess the price of the most expensive American wine ever sold?
Story below 🍷
1/ Answer: $500,000 for a bottle of Screaming Eagle 🦅
Made by a female winemaker (extremely rare in this industry).
The story of how this wine went from $100 a bottle to $500,000 is incredible.
2/ Our story starts with Jean Phillips.
She leaves behind a successful career in real estate in 1986
And buys 57 acres of land in Oakville, Napa Valley
It had a vineyard, but it was a mess.
She names it Screaming Eagle.
3/ Phillips had never run a winery before.
She had only made wine in plastic trash cans at home.
She ends up selling most of her grapes to local wineries.
However, she keeps 1 acre of Cabernet Sauvignon for herself.
4/ Phillips had a vision for those grapes 🍇
After talking with many consultants, Phillips hires a relatively unknown winemaker.
26 year old Heidi Peterson Barrett
5/ Hiring Heidi Peterson Barrett was like drafting LeBron before he was LeBron.
She’s now responsible for cult wines at multiple wineries.
She’s even been dubbed “The First Lady of Wine.”
6/ Barrett made Screaming Eagle’s first commercial wine in 1992.
She only used Phillip’s 1 acre of Cabernet Sauvignon.
And only made 200 cases.
7/ Fast-forward 3 years later.
Legendary wine critic Robert Parker comes to Screaming Eagle.
He tries the Cabernet Sauvignon and….. loves it!
He gives it a 99 out of 100.
8/ Overnight, Screaming Eagle gains cult status.
Everyone wants a taste of this previously unheralded wine..
The problem: there are only 200 cases.
Prices start to climb 📈
9/ Fast-forward to a Napa Valley auction in 2000.
Demand is sky high..
When Screaming Eagles 1992 Cab is up, people go crazy.
Reportedly, former Cisco System exec Chase Bailey bids the highest: $500,000.
10/ $500,000 might seem exorbitant, but it’s not an accident.
Screaming Eagle did everything right:
Quality grapes
Strong critical praise
High demand
Low supply
A perfect storm for the most expensive US wine ever sold.
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