'Most valuable' bottle of white wine sells for £75,000

A 200-year-old bottle of white wine has been sold for £75,000, setting a record for the most expensive bottle of white wine not bought at auction.

The 1811 Chateau d'Yquem was purchased by French collector Christian Vanneque.

Guinness World Records said the bottle, which was sold at the Ritz, in central London, was the most expensive bottle of white wine that it knew of.

The record for the most expensive bottle of any wine sold at auction was set at £192,000 last November.

It is held by an imperial-sized bottle of 1947 French Cheval-Blanc, a red, which was sold at Christie's in Geneva, Guinness World Records said.

However Sotheby's said it held the record for the most expensive standard-sized bottle at auction - a Chateau Lafite 1869, which went for £151,000 last October.

'Record of inspection'

The 1811 Chateau d'Yquem has set the record for a standard size white wine bottle, commercially available rather than purchased at auction.

It was sold by rare wine specialists the Antique Wine Company.

Mr Vanneque said he would put the wine on display in his new restaurant SIP Sunset Grill, in Bali, Indonesia.

The bottle of sweet wine was accompanied by a "record of inspection" from Chateau d'Yquem, near Bordeaux.

Unlike many other white wines, specialists say d'Yquem can age for indefinite periods, developing its flavour.

The most expensive white wine was previously a 1787 Chateau d'Yquem Sauternes, which is priced at an average of $60,000 (£31,402), depending on the retailer.

The bottle that claims the new Guinness World Record is from the same vineyard but a different vintage.