5 Of The Most Expensive Wines Ever Seen At Trader Joe's

One of the best parts about going to Trader Joe's is knowing that you can stop by anytime and get a great, and often interesting, bottle of wine for under $10. If you're on the hunt for something particularly fancy, you might snag one of the grocer's private label Diamond Reserve bottles. Still, these special bottles typically stay under $30, and some of our favorite wines from Trader Joe's sit in the $7-$25 range. Yet Trader Joe's has been known to occasionally stock high-end bottles that fetch a price upwards of $130.

This might come as a shock, considering that the retailer is best known for unique finds that are also budget-friendly. But we've all had moments where a pricey bottle of wine is called for — say a holiday gathering, a gift, or a celebration. While it's convenient to be able to grab a nice bottle alongside your grocery staples, Trader Joe's doesn't always keep expensive wines stocked. These pricier bottles would show up, at random, most commonly at the now-closed Trader Joe's wine shop at Union Square in New York City, as well as at a store in Austin, Texas.

As of July 2026, the most expensive bottle of wine listed on the Trader Joe's website is the Henri Laffard Grand Reserve Brut Champagne for $26.99. Because the pricier bottles customers find seem to show up on a store-by-store basis, you may want to keep your eyes peeled next time you're shopping.

Veuve Clicquot is one of the best-known names in the world of Champagne, and its La Grande Dame seems to be the most expensive bottle that has been spotted at Trader Joe's. Previously found at the former Union Square shop, it had a price tag of about $131.99. This might be how much you spend on an entire grocery haul, but it isn't unreasonable for a nice bottle of Champagne. The price varies with vintage; for example, the 2015 vintage goes for around $173.99, while the 2018 can be found for around $280 — so $131.99 is not so bad.

La Grande Dame is named in honor of Barbe Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, who is considered the "grande dame of Champagne" and helped revolutionize the Champagne industry. The cuvée is produced only in vintages when the harvest meets Veuve Clicquot's high standards, and has only produced 25 vintages since it was created. The Champagne is a blend of 90% pinot noir and 10% chardonnay, with notes of florals, citrus, and minerals. It typically receives a 90-point-plus rating from professional reviews.

Spotted at an Austin, Texas, Trader Joe's by Wine Guy Dustin, a sommelier on YouTube, the Château Haut-Batailley is another premium Bordeaux, this time priced at $69. Located in Pauillac, on Bordeaux's Left Bank, Château Haut-Batailley is a Fifth Growth estate in the historic 1855 Bordeaux classification. This classification was created when Napoleon III requested an official ranking of Bordeaux's finest wines, and to this day, wine brokers rank estates into five quality tiers based on their long-term reputation and the prices their wines command. 

The Château Haut-Batailley is typically cabernet sauvignon forward, delivering classic bold Bordeaux flavors like currant, plum, tobacco, and baking spices with firm tannins. Critics award recent vintages scores in the low to mid-90s, and Wine Guy Dustin said it was "pretty good." The 2020 vintage shown in the video has the same pricing to what you'd now find online for the same vintage.

Château Talbot Bordeaux is another one of the priciest wines found at Trader Joe's Union Square wine shop, with bottles selling for $67.99 a while back. As one of the 19 independent producers in the Saint-Julien appellation of Bordeaux and as a Fourth Growth estate, these wines are known for their incredibly dark color and smooth tannins. 

Bordeaux is the wine capital of the world, and most wine newbies recognize this region as having quality wine, but the price might still feel like an investment compared to the everyday bottles of red you can find at Trader Joe's. But as a bottle of Bordeaux from a historic chateau, and one that has modernized and improved its winemaking operations in recent years, this is a relatively affordable option.

As a cabernet sauvignon-dominant red Bordeaux blend, Château Talbot Bordeaux has flavors of black fruits, dark chocolate, tobacco, and licorice. Wine critics frequently award vintages scores in the 90-point range, making this a "superb" wine.

Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon is a very recognizable, high-end wine from California that was spotted for around $64.99 at the Trader Joe's Union Square wine shop a decade ago. Produced in Napa Valley, the grapes come from eight (out of 16 total) appellations. Caymus is a cabernet sauvignon known for its rich, fruit-forward style, and you can expect to find notes of saddle leather, cassis, and French oak (the type of barrel in which the wine ages).

Caymus is considered a worthy splurge for shoppers wanting something special for their wine stock, as this wine typically receives 90-point-plus ratings from critics. Older vintages are priced over $100, with most recent years sitting between $70-$80, so the Trader Joe's pricing is very fair. This wine is considered to be one of the most iconic Napa Valley wines (some may consider it overhyped), but customers truly see it as a good wine. On Vivino, it receives 4.6 stars out of 5 from nearly 196,000 reviews.

Château Giscours is another prestigious Left Bank Bordeaux wine found at an Austin, Texas, Trader Joe's, where Wine Guy Dustin spotted it for $59 per bottle. Produced in the Margaux appellation, Château Giscours is a Third Growth estate in the historic 1855 Bordeaux Classification, and has earned a reputation for producing elegant, age-worthy wines for 450 years.

As with other Bordeaux, this wine is a cabernet sauvignon-dominant red blend, with merlot, cabernet franc and small amounts of petit verdot, with a silky mouthfeel and flavors of cassis, florals, toast, and black tea. Wine Guy Dustin noted this wine had some noticeable "barrel funk," and drinking it felt like licking the inside of a wine cellar — and in his opinion, it wasn't worth buying. Yet experts rate the 2020 vintage of this wine (shown in the YouTube video) with 94 points, technically making it an "extraordinary" wine — so it still might be worth trying for yourself if you spot it. Today the average price of this vintage is $67 per bottle.