In Montreal, journalist Louis-Philippe Messier travels mostly on the run, his desk in his backpack, on the lookout for fascinating subjects and people. He speaks to everyone and is interested in all walks of life in this urban chronicle.
A wine collector looking for a cellar large enough for his approximately 10,000 bottles understood that he would never be as well served as by himself and ended up building a gigantic “wine cellar” which I could visit.
The 256 fragrant pine cellar spaces, overlooked by refrigeration units and an army of sprinklers, extend over 20,000 square feet and form a maze. The place can accommodate more than a quarter of a million bottles. I got lost there.
“We increased the intensity of the lighting because everyone was looking for their way!” confirms with a laugh Jean-Frédéric Laberge, the businessman and wine collector behind the project.
Located in the basement of what was once the TQS and CFCF12 building, in front of the Parc train station and metro station, the Celliers Ogilvy, opened last December, already houses around 80,000 bottles.
“Next fall, an additional wing of 70,000 bottles will be added for a total capacity of 325,000, which will make it the largest cellar in Canada.”
Be careful not to get lost in the confusing corridors of the 256 cellar spaces!
Louis-Philippe Messier
Missing cellars
“Five or six years ago, the SAQ closed its rental cellar space which was under the old prison at Pied-du-Courant, and many collectors found themselves in a bad situation… including me!” recounts the fifty-year-old who got the wine bug while talking with renowned sommeliers at his father’s restaurant in Quebec.
“It was called Paris-Brest and we had a cellar with more than 300 kinds of French wines.”
Gastronomy and good wine, Mr. Laberge therefore “fell into it when he was little”, to use Obélix’s expression.
“My parents were epicureans and we often traveled just to eat in restaurants in Europe.”
At 16, Mr. Laberge began buying good bottles to keep them.
“In 1998, I bought cases of Domaine Leroy at the SAQ for around $500 per bottle that no one wanted, but these bottles are now worth $75,000 to $150,000.”
No question of juicy profit by reselling these bottles of Burgundy wine since, you guessed it, they have already been drunk!
“I don’t buy wine to speculate, I don’t resell it! I organize dinners, I enjoy it with friends, who are also passionate about wine.”
“The goal is to be the first buyer, so as not to pay a fortune later.”
So does he plan to drink his 10,000 bottles?
“I’ll never make it through, I’ll die leaving wine, lots of wine, that’s for sure!”
Security
A security guard, cameras, codes and keys to enter and exit the cellar are supposed to deter potential thieves.
A boarding fee of 3.50 per bottle per year must be calculated, for a minimum of 384 bottles, which corresponds to the smallest cellar space offered.
“For people who have 1,000 to 2,000 bottles, the option of having a private cellar built at home exists, but it’s expensive… and why keep bottles at home that you won’t touch for years? »
The most expensive bottle in his personal collection?
“It’s a bottle of Burgundy from Domaine Leroy that’s worth around $100,000.”
The smallest cellars available for rental hold 384 bottles.
Louis-Philippe Messier