A new record was announced by Switzerland-based merchant ARVI after it sold the 27-litre bottle of Bibi Graetz Colore 2016 for 100,000 Swiss francs (£87,104). 

It’s the most expensive bottle of Italian wine ever sold, said the retailer on its Instagram account.

No details were given about the buyer of the wine, which contains the equivalent of 36 standard 75cl bottles.

Bibi Graetz founded his eponymous winery in 2000, in Fiesole near to Florence in Tuscany, and has since risen to become one of Italy’s most celebrated cult producers. 

The label of this large-format bottle of Colore is intended to depict the emotions of the 2016 vintage, said ARVI, a leading merchant for fine and rare wines in Switzerland.

It added the bottle label was created by Graetz himself, who grew up in a house of collectors and artists, to mark the winery’s decision to join La Place de Bordeaux global distribution system.

It said the 27-litre bottle’s case is also made from the wood of the barrique used to age the wine, with a stainless steel lid featuring Bibi Graetz’s signature.

Photo credit: Courtesy of ARVI.

Colore is a flagship wine for Bibi Graetz and Decanter’s regional editor for Italy, James Button, gave 98 points to Colore 2021 after tasting it in the UK last year, coinciding with its release via Bordeaux négociants.

‘Colore 2021 is incredibly energetic, with ripe red and black fruit aromas and a balsamic waft leading to a fleshy palate showcasing sweet and sapid raspberry, cherry and pomegranate,’ he wrote. It is sourced from old Sangiovese vines across several specific sites in Tuscany.

Testamatta, another key wine in the Bibi Graetz range, is produced from vines aged between 35 and 50 years.

Last year, the winery also released three limited-edition ‘Balocchi di Colore’ wines – showcasing the Sangiovese, Canaiolo and Colorino varieties that have contributed to Colore since the wine was first created.

In June 2024, UK merchant Berry Bros & Rudd announced an exclusive partnership with Bibi Graetz, and subsequently offered the producer’s first Cabernet Franc wine. Only 1,200 bottles of 2021-vintage Balocchi No.7, Cabernet Franc – from Olmo in Fiesole – have been made, said the merchant.

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