(This post was written by Guillaume Jourdan) At a time when some raise questions about the future of Bordeaux negociants and of their business model, it is interesting to analyze the opportunities they could consider in 2014. After reading this interview with David Pearson, CEO of Opus One, in Drinks Business magazine, I think Bordeaux negociants may have an excellent card to play with some great wines made outside Bordeaux. In 2011, when Chateau de Beaucastel started to be available on “La Place”, Marc Perrin explained:” Hommage à Jacques Perrin is extremely demanded. The main reason we decided to put some Hommage on the place of Bordeaux is because we are always saying ‘no’ to people who are asking to buy Hommage. Now everyone can contact Bordeaux negociants to buy some and get at the same time a guarantee on the provenance.” Out of 400 negociants, today only 22 have decided to propose some great wines made outside Bordeaux. The system of trading through La Place allows for In 2014, the future of the Bordeaux negociants’ business model is at stake. In 2011, wine critic James Molesworth wrote in Wine Spectator:”The system typically favors the biggest names with the longest histories and tends to insulate the top châteaus from the rigors of working the marketplace themselves.” In Drinks Business, Dave Pearson mentions the dynamism of Bordeaux negociants and adds: “La Place is not the place for building brands or creating a brand presence in a particular market – the wines need to have an established demand already. We’ve seen others come in [to La Place], such as Sassicaia, Masseto and Beaucastel, and it wouldn’t surprise me if others come in.” On his side, Marc Perrin gives a good argument to wine estates that may be interested to join the group: “The place de Bordeaux’s job is to allocate wines, so it frees us from that. Instead of spending time on the phone saying ‘no’ to people, we can concentrate on the vineyards and wines.” Will we see more negociants propose great wines made outside Bordeaux in 2014? The prestigious status obtained by wine estates over the last decades is undeniable and numerous clients of Bordeaux negociants are already buying these wines from other companies. 2014 may be the year when changes will happen and when we will see more Bordeaux negociants change their business model to include wines whose names are already recognized all over the world. (*Since 2003, Guillaume Jourdan has been advising more than 200 prestigious wine estates for their international communication strategy incl. Chapoutier, Hugel, Dr Loosen, Famille Perrin, Cos d’Estournel, Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie’s Miraval…Write to Guillaume info@vitabella.fr)
the wine’s international distribution in as little as 24 hours due to the global contacts of the négociants in Bordeaux. For the first time, Hommage à Jacques Perrin 2009 was proposed when Bordeaux-based négociants started delivering their 2009 Bordeaux. In fact, if Hommage à Jacques Perrin can not, in any way, deny its noble and great origins from Chateauneuf du Pape, it is true that the famous Chateau de Beaucastel has much in common with Bordeaux greatest Chateaus. Its history dating back to 1697, the uniqueness of its terroir located at the northern limit of the appellation, the quality and fabulous ageing potential of its wines… all these remind us of the essential qualities of Bordeaux greatest wines. We should also note that Robert Parker has been covering Beaucastel for many years and gives the best scores as he does for Bordeaux most coveted wines.
Will 2014 be a turning Point for Bordeaux Negociants?
