>However, at the top end of retail wine the difference in product cost between a $200 bottle and a $300 bottle is effectively zero, so price is less useful as a

>However, at the top end of retail wine the difference in product cost between a $200 bottle and a $300 bottle is effectively zero, so price is less useful as a guide. You have to consider provenance at the point of higher priced bottles. You're paying the person who stored the wine in ideal conditions, took deliberate care to ship it during certain weather, and sourced it to make sure it's not a fake.