(This post “Jourdan on #WineWednesday / Bordeaux Primeurs 2015: A profoundly Human vintage” was written by Guillaume Jourdan*)
VitaBella Luxury Wine has been at the forefront of BIG DATA for several years now, helping the great names in wine with their international Marketing & Communication strategy. Each year we conduct an opinion survey about Bordeaux Futures ahead of the key En Primeurs week (read last year’s report). Once again this year, the analysis – using a multilingual approach (15 languages) – has allowed us to detect the key trends that are emerging for the 2015 Primeurs. And what will be retained about the 2015 vintage in Bordeaux, beyond the fact that appreciation for the vintage is extremely high, will be its Humanity, with a capital H. Let me explain…
While a few critics will say that it’s about time we finally started talking about the women and men of Bordeaux, our new Big Data analysis is unequivocal: humanity is at the core of the 2015 Bordeaux vintage. Four main points emerge from this “background noise”:
1) The numerous comments about the death of Paul Pontallier (Chateau Margaux) highlight how important the man truly was. It’s not just a question of “big money” in the châteaux of Bordeaux, it’s also a deeply Human adventure around a team formed of individuals driven by passion.
2) This year, estate owners aren’t shouting about “the vintage of the century”. They have come down to earth, they’re more rational: in other words, more Human. Many comments from tasters highlighted this aspect, conveying their great astonishment. And it is effectively a big surprise since, in view of the quality of this vintage, they had expected owners to sing the praises of their wines far more loudly and proudly.
3) The consumer, the Human Being, is a core concern in this 2015 vintage. If 2005, 2009 and 2010 are cited when making comparisons with the 2015 vintage, the comments quickly turn to what is a major preoccupation, that of avoiding certain errors committed in previous vintages, notably with regard to alcohol content. These comments remind us that the consumer today seeks wines that are easier to drink and less demonstrative in terms of alcohol, and of the necessity of taking this into account for this 2015 vintage. The customer, the consumer, the Human has once again been placed at the centre of the debate.
4) Whilst this last point isn’t directly linked to the 2015 vintage, it was impossible to ignore the latest wine news from Bordeaux that is currently getting the city talked about widely on social media: La Cité du Vin. And what can we glean from an analysis of the commentaries on this very specific subject? “Bordeaux wishes to get closer to wine consumers in opening this magnificent space.” There it is: Human, Human, Human.
To humanise the great wines of Bordeaux—isn’t that ultimately what the great châteaux of Bordeaux need to restore their public image? Bordeaux has always produced great wines, but it’s important to remember that inspiring human stories were at the origin of their renown, and that it wasn’t simply the aggregation of millions of euros that was responsible for such magnificent success. Thousands of women and men work with passion day in, day out in these properties. That’s what I see every day when I visit the chateaux we advise. And this Primeurs campaign 2015 will no doubt go down in history as the one that contributed to reducing what is a still significant gap between the real and the perceived image…
(*Since 2003, Guillaume Jourdan has been advising more than 200 prestigious wine estates for their international marketing & communication strategy incl. Chapoutier, Hugel, Dr Loosen, Famille Perrin, Cos d’Estournel, Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie’s Miraval…Write to info@vitabella.fr)
