You may have wondered how wines from the top Châteaux are selected, shipped and arrive in British Columbia for the release. In fact, the process is fairly intricate. Due to its history and industry structure, the manner of buying and selling Bordeaux is quite different from trading other wines.
While both the dry whites and luscious sweet wines of Bordeaux can be excellent, the region is best known for its reds. They are typically blends of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc and often spend several months aging in small oak barrels or barriques. The very best wines are characterized not only by their depth of flavour and balanced structure, but by their ability to age for several years in bottle.
Bordeaux sits on the Gironde estuary, a historically famous commercial waterway in southwest France. Proximity to the Atlantic affects the region’s wines in two main ways. Firstly, the maritime climate influences which grape varieties are successful and which styles of wine are produced. Cabernet Sauvignon, for instance, is a late-ripening variety and the moderate maritime climate allows it to stay on the vine late into the fall. Unlike Cabernet from a warmer area like California, a Bordeaux will have firmer acidity and more herbal character. Secondly, the Gironde was instrumental in building export markets to other European countries. Of these, England has traditionally been the most important. Since the marriage of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine in the 12th century, there has been a strong relationship between the English wine consumer and Bordeaux. In fact, Britain’s love of claret (red Bordeaux), together with the wine’s high quality, has played a key role in the region’s fame. More recent history has seen wine consumption grow in countries outside of Europe and with it, a demand for classic wines like Bordeaux. There is an established market in North America and a rapidly growing one in Asia. With the entire world wanting to buy wines from one region, demand can outstrip supply and the product has to be strictly allocated.
To secure their allocations of top Bordeaux, retail buyers and importers in the wine trade must stake their claims years before they take delivery of the wines. Essentially, they are purchasing Bordeaux on futures. There is one opportunity to sample the wines before buying them but one must fly to Bordeaux to do it. For a week in the springtime, the Bordeaux Châteaux open their doors to journalists, buyers and importers from around the world. These are the en primeur tastings that take place in March or April after the harvest. For example, the 2010 vintage was tasted in April of this year and the 2008 vintage, early in 2009. The production is not bottled at this point because the wines are still maturing in barriques. In order to offer them for tasting, producers have to take samples from the barrels and bottle them especially for the occasion. Visitors will taste hundreds of samples during the week of en primeur and immediately following the tastings in Bordeaux, the futures “campaign” will begin. The campaign consists of offers that come from intermediaries called négociants.
The négociants buy hundreds of wines from the Châteaux and then offer them to buyers like the BC Liquor Distribution Branch. Demand for the wines will be greater or lesser depending on the strength of the vintage, journalist reviews (especially those of Robert Parker) and quantities produced. The amount allocated to any one buyer will depend on that buyer’s history with the négociants. Offers for the vintage will typically come in daily from April through July, with payment due at the end of the campaign.
Typically, Bordeaux purchased en primeur will spend two more years in the Château cellar before being shipped to négociants and then on to the final customer. Some of that time will be spent in barrique and some in bottle. In the case of BC Liquor Stores, the en primeur purchases arrive nearly three years after the grapes were harvested. Once the wines are here, they are all released into the stores at the same time. After such a long wait for these classic wines, the release is certainly cause for celebration!
The intricate and relatively long process of purchasing Bordeaux wines makes their arrival in BC Liquor Stores highly anticipated. As Product Consultants get a chance to try many of the Bordeaux soon after their arrival in BC, do not hesitate to ask for a personal tasting note and review. This year’s Bordeaux release is on October 1st, 2011.
For more information about this release, including wines in the release, click here to download the 2008 Les Vins de Bordeaux booklet.
