Top Five Best Performing Wines of April, 2009

As the Dow Jones slouches toward 9,000, WinePrices’ has published their Fine Wines 100 Index for April of 2009. The Fine Wines 100 Index “is based on the most actively traded wines at global auctions as compiled by WinePrices.com.” We’ve pulled the top five best performing wines from the list to give you a taste of something just a little bit different from our usual, most expensive fare.

1996 Latour
Index Value: 238.34

One of only four Châteaux to achieve First Growth status in the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855, Château Latour received its name from a garrison tower that stood on its grounds until its destruction during the Battle of Castillon in 1453. The 1996 Latour, with an average value of $543.55, is April’s fifth best performing wine.

1982 Mission Haut-Brion
Index value: 248.56

Château la Mission Haut-Brion, located in the Graves region near the city of Bordeaux, produces one of the 1953 Graves Classification’s Grand Crus. The vineyard has been operated since the 16th century and spent 130 years in the hands of the Pères Lazarists of the Mission of Saint-Vincent de Paul. The 1982 vintage has an average value of $878.21

Lafite-Rothschild
Highest Index Value: 354.16

The three best performing wines of April, 2009 were produced at Château Lafite Rothschild in the Médoc region northwest of Bordeaux, currently owned by the French branch of the affluent Rothschild banking family. Château Lafite is the first on the list of Châteaux to achieve First Growth status in the 1855 Classification and the same vineyard produced one of the world’s most expensive wine bottles, the famed “Th.J” bottle thought to have once been owned by Thomas Jefferson. The best performing and most valued vintage was the 1982 Lafite-Rothschild with an average value of $2,143.88. Second and third place went to the 2000 and 1998 vintages, respectively.