The Vintage Wine That Gave Costco Shoppers Sticker Shock

As much as Costco is known for selling brand-name items for exceptionally low prices, it's also gained a reputation for stocking luxury products. Aside from the solid bars of gold it sells, Costco has also stocked jewelry priced in the six-figure range, wagyu beef roasts, caviar, and a four-pack of French vintage wine that retailed for a cool $40,000. You've got to laugh. After all, this is the same store that hawks hot dogs and a drink for $1.50. 

In the summer of 2024, a Costco located in Silicon Valley in Northern California grabbed shoppers' attention, not to mention headlines, when it was found to be offering the aforementioned $40,000 pack of wine. The wines were from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, an almost 800-year-old vineyard that is considered one of the most famous on the planet. All four wines were 2014 vintages made with pinot noir, one of the three grape varieties that are used to make Champagne. The crown jewel of the collection was a bottle of Romanée-Conti, valued at over $21,000. Only 1,150 cases of this wine are produced annually, making it a rare and coveted find. The remaining three wines were a $5,700 bottle of La Tâche, a $3,200 bottle of Echézeaux, and a Grands-Echézeaux, valued at $3,600. At the time of writing, it appears that the pack is no longer available.

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is located in the Burgundy region of France and was founded in the 13th century by monks from a nearby monastery. Its vineyards originally stretched over 4.5 acres, but over the next several hundred years, the winery changed ownership three times, and gained acreage with each passing of the torch. 

The rare Romanée-Conti vintage is only made with grapes grown on the original 4.5 acre plot of land, which, in a way, pays homage to its roots and lends an air of romanticism to it. Each wine that Domaine de la Romanée-Conti produces (including the aforementioned La Tâche, Echézeaux, and Grands-Echézeaux) is designated as a "Grand Cru" varietal which basically denotes that the grapes used to make the wine were grown in the very best vineyards. This designation is something to look out for if you are judging a bottle of wine on its label.

The vineyards themselves are UNESCO world heritage sites, protected locations that have historical or cultural significance. A total of around 6,000 cases of wine are released from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti every year. If you don't know how many bottles are in a case of wine, the standard is 12. This means only 72,000 bottles are released by Domaine de la Romanée-Conti annually. As such, people generally need to visit a specialty wine shop or wine auction website to get their hands on a bottle. Then again, a Costco membership apparently helps too.