Try one of the world’s best wines for half price. But is it really worth $320 a glass?

Tasting a $3800 bottle of champagne was not on my bingo card for 2024. Nor is it for most people during the cost-of-living crisis, when $3800 barely covers three weeks’ rent. But duty has called, and I’m tasked with investigating whether it’s worth dropping $320 on a discounted glass of fancy wine during the inaugural Coravin Wine World Tour.

For the first time this May, hatted restaurants Atria (Melbourne) and Bentley Restaurant & Bar (Sydney) are using the Coravin wine preservation system to pour a particularly special (and expensive) line-up of wines by the glass at half of the expected price.

Coravin is a popular preservation and pouring device that extracts wine from the bottle without compromising taste or pressure. In other words, it ensures your champagne stays bubbly and fresh when you want a glass but don’t want to finish the entire bottle – unlike putting a silver teaspoon into the neck of the bottle (yep, that’s a myth).

For well-off wine lovers who dream of drinking prestigious blanc de blanc champagne from century-old vineyards in the Côte des Blancs in France, or experiencing the silky tannins of a cabernet sauvignon blend from California’s Santa Ynez Valley, the Coravin tour may seem like a good deal.

A bottle of 2013 Salon “Cuvee S” blanc de blanc, considered one of the finest and rarest of its kind, retails for $3800. That becomes $320 for a standard glass, for example.

But what really makes a wine that expensive, and could it ever be worth that much coin?

Sommelier, writer and wine consultant Samantha Payne compares luxury wines to designer handbags, which made international headlines in March when manufacturers increased their prices to maintain the appearance of exclusivity.

“[Luxury wine] is worth what somebody is going to spend on it, and that’s defined by a lot of factors, and sometimes not all of them have to do with quality,” says Payne.

Atria head sommelier Sean Lam says the price tag can relate to the quality of the fruit, the winemaking decisions, or the terroir [where the grapes are grown]. But “inevitably, of course, increased demand also naturally drives the price up”.

High media ratings help with that: in the case of the Cuvee S, a “magnificent” 99-point score from wine publication Vinous helped propel it to trophy status.

Bentley co-owner and head sommelier Nick Hildebrandt says the average diner can usually appreciate the difference in quality.

“In a lot of wine, there are very subtle differences. However, in the top wines, the quality generally shines through,” he says.

Payne tells me that being able to identify quality depends on how much wine you’ve experienced. I’ve smashed through my fair share, so maybe I’m more qualified than I thought. But what am I tasting for?

There are two key factors, Payne explains: flavour and texture.

“The feel of it is what differentiates wine from Ribena or grape juice,” she says. “The more expensive, the more sensation, texture and interest and layers you’ll get out of it. In cheaper wines, the acidity tends to be very sharp.”

At Bentley, the Cuvee S is poured with reverence. It starts light and crisp and gently develops a warm, almost citrusy flavour. It takes effort to sip slowly – without the harsh bubbles and dry acidity I’m used to in sparkling wines, I could have easily downed the glass. Dangerous for a wine so expensive.

The 2021 Bass Phillip “Premium” Chardonnay follows ($125 RRP for a bottle; $48 for 120ml). Pale yellow with a whisper of oaky butteriness that I very much enjoy, it makes me reconsider my disdain for chardonnay – is this what it was supposed to taste like this entire time?

Finally, the 2021 Bass Phillip “Premium” Pinot Noir ($300 RRP for a bottle; $80 for 120ml), which is described as “brooding and textural”. It’s a cosy winter night in a glass: velvety, a little spicy and great with my duck soup.

Each is a genuine joy, showcasing how subtle and nuanced flavours can develop in wines of this calibre. But would I recommend shelling out for them? As Payne says – it depends.

For cashed-up wine aficionados, those who can swirl a glass of red into a firestorm, confidently recognise notes of freshly baked brioche, white linen or crushed oyster shells in their champagne, or recall vintage variations from memory, it could make for a very memorable evening.

For the rest of us? Well, I’ll be sticking to my local wine shop, where I might splash out on a $40 bottle for a special occasion.

The Coravin World Wine Tour is available at Atria at The Ritz-Carlton in Melbourne and Bentley Restaurant and Bar at Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel in Sydney during May.