This 40-year-old bottle of wine from one of the world’s most envied collections is about to hit the auction block — but is it worth $180,000?

Wine enthusiasts and collectors, get your paddles ready.

Christie’s is hosting its first wine auction since 2022 on June 12, brought to you by billionaire businessman, private collector and America’s Cup winner Bill Koch. The three-day event features 1,500 lots comprising nearly 8,000 bottles of historic vintages from his private collection, which has a low estimate of $15 million but could exceed $21 million.

Bordeaux and Burgundy make up the lion’s share, and at the heart of the collection is more than 750 large-format bottles — including more than 45 jeroboams (three liters) and methuselahs (six liters) from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. 

In fact, the revered wine producer makes up the entirety of the top 10 by value list, with No. 1 — a 1985 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti — seeing a high estimate of $180,000.“A Chicago wine dealer brought this bottle to my attention in 1988. He acquired it from Europe,” Koch told The Post, referring to himself as a wine “geek.”

“I have loved large-format bottles because they take longer to mature,” he explained. “It has to do with surface space and oxygen. The larger the bottle, the less exposure to oxygen, the better the wine ages. But putting aside my geekiness, this wine is one of the vintages my wife loves to drink. She has great taste. It was an excellent year for Burgundy.”

Indeed, 1985 was a great year for wine, but this is also a big one. A methuselah holds six liters — or eight standard bottles.