They say a fine wine gets better with age. Based on the amount of money people are willing to spend on centuries-old bottles, I’m assuming that’s true.

Of course, it’s not all about age. A wine’s value is also based on exclusivity. Sure, a good vintage doesn’t hurt. But some of the rare bottles on this list aren’t even drinkable. Sometimes, it’s all about status.

With that in mind, here are nine of the most expensive bottles of wine.

(Source)

(Source)

Considering this bottle of wine is older than the United States of America, I figured it would be worth a lot of money. But I didn’t expect it to be worth more than my car. Then again, my car was made in the U.S.A., where as this Sherry is a Russian import. And based on the picture, the bottle looks cleaner than my car, as well, so I guess it makes sense. Not really, but let’s move on.

How ridiculous are the prices on this list going to get? Let’s put it in perspective with this bottle of Chateau Yquem. It was sold for $100,000, which is probably more than you make in a year (if not, congrats). At any rate, it’s not the most expensive wine on this list. It’s not the most expensive white wine on this list. Hell, it’s not even the most expensive bottle of Chateau Yquem on this list.

At $117,000, this bottle of Chateau Yquem from 1811 is the most expensive bottle of white wine ever purchased. And that’s something… I guess. I don’t care for whites.

Only 600 bottles of this wine were created. That scarcity might explain why the price of a bottle reached $123,900. Unless you don’t like wine, in which case nothing can explain it.

You would expect a bottle of wine that cost $160,000 to taste pretty damn good. But this bottle of Chateau Lafite isn’t even drinkable. Its claim to fame is the fact that it was once owned by President Thomas Jefferson. Why he didn’t drink it is something we may never know.

Unlike most of the wine on this list, Pelfolds Block 42 is less than a decade old. Its value comes from the fact that only 12 bottles were made. And while a bottle may cost a whopping $168,000, a winemaker from the vineyard will actually travel to your location and give you a private tasting once you decide to open it. I wonder if he’ll be expecting to taste it himself?

This bottle was only expected to bring in around $8000, which, last time I check, is still a hell of a lot of money to pay for old grape juice. But thanks to an unexpected demand in Asia, it ended up costing $233,972, which must have been a nice surprise for the seller.

Out of all the outrageous prices on this list, the $275,000 paid for this bottle of 1907 Heidsieck makes the most sense, relativly speaking. Aside from the wine itself, you’re also getting a piece of history.

In 1916, a shipment of this wine was headed to the Russian royal family. It was lost at sea, and salvaged years later, and sold at auction. So if you’re lucky enough to get your hands on a bottle, you’ll have something that not only spent years at the bottom of the ocean, but also belonged to a dead Tsar. That’s pretty god damn rare.

This bottle doesn’t have the romantic back story of the Heidsieck. But keep in mind, it is six liters. So if you’re going by volume, it’s a much better deal. For $304,375, it better be.