It was a “small” price to pay.

A 200-year-old bottle of wine that was supposed to be sipped by the famously short French military leader Napoleon Bonaparte sold for $30,000 at an auction this week.

The sweet South African vino  — a blend of “ripe and raisined” red muscadel and pontac — was slated to be sent in 1821 to the island of St. Helena, where Napoleon had been living in exile, according to the Cape Fine & Rare Wine Auctionhouse in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

But he died in May of that year — while the grapes were still ripening at the Groot Constantia vineyard near Cape Town — and he never got to taste it, according to Decanter magazine.

Instead, the bottle of Grand Constance was released to the public and is now “perhaps one of only 12 remaining in the world,” an auction organizer told the outlet.

“It’s a true unicorn wine,” Christie’s auctioneer Charlie Foley said before the sale.

It was snapped up by a mystery bidder from the UK at the auction in South Africa Saturday.

Despite its age, the wine is still believed to be drinkable because it was re-corked in 2019 to preserve flavor.

Wine buffs called it a rare chance to uncork history.

“A treasure of this calibre presents itself perhaps once in a lifetime, and anyone lucky enough to secure this wine at auction will be rewarded with an unbelievable valuable piece of wine history,” said Niel Groenewald of Nederburg wine estate and head of the auction house.

Fans of Constantia wines from the region have also included George Washington, King George III and Frederick the Great.