Hundreds of people braved the dark and cold at Signature BC Liquor Stores across the province on Saturday for a rare shot at some of the world’s most sought-after wine.
Once a year, BC Liquor Stores releases a Bordeaux vintage, drawing crowds more reminiscent of an iPhone release than a wine debut.
This year’s vintage, from 2015, includes bottles priced between $25 and $3,500 before tax.
Sam Cschechter was one of the people lined up in Vancouver on Saturday. He said he was looking to spend “under $1,000.”
“This is probably the best release since 2010. I got here at 6:25 in the morning, and I was number 102 in line. There’s a lot of enthusiasm for a good vintage, and it’s been a few years since a good vintage,” he said.
“There are some bottles that are above my usual spend that I’m looking for as a special treat. Actually, my wife and I are expecting, and we’re going to have something for the baby shower, maybe,” Cschechter added.
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Dennis, another customer in line, said he’d been coming to the releases for 11 years, bulking up a Bordeaux collection. He said the wine’s special quality makes it worth the effort.
“As my boss told me, you’re buying wine for your grandchildren, really. Because the thing about Bordeaux wine is that it’s one of the few wines in the world you can put into storage for a really long time,” he said.
“As it ages, it gets better.”
Barbara Philip, master of wine for BC Liquor Stores, said there is no question that the 2015 vintage’s reputation precedes it.
“The last few years, since 2010, have been good years, but we haven’t seen a year like 2015 with its ripeness, with its complexity and overall quality, for quite some time,” she said.
BC Liquor Stores more than doubled the number of outlets participating in the release this year and bulked up the variety of products on offer as well, with 170 different bottles available.
Some of the more sought-after listings had per-customer bottle limits associated with them, hence the large lines.
However, despite the high price point of some of the more collector-friendly offerings — like the pricey $3,500 Chateau Petrus — Philip said there were plenty of accessible wines on offer.
“That is a misconception that people have, that all Bordeaux is going to be expensive, but in fact depending on the region, depending on the producer, there are a whole range of prices,” she said.
During last year’s release, BC Liquor Stores said it sold nearly $3 million of Bordeaux wines in two days.
You can find out more about the wines included in this year’s release here.
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