Bordeaux 2009 optimism overshadowed by long-term concerns

It may not even have been harvested yet, but Bordeaux’s producers are already optimistic about the 2009 vintage.

However, as the cycle of hype and speculation begins once more, Jean Christophe Mau, owner of châteaux Brown and Preuillac, as well as class growth buyer for négociant Yvon Mau, offers some candid views on the region’s future.

“We are close to being excited about 2009”, comments Mau, suggesting that bar a sudden change in weather in the next few weeks, “It will be impossible to make a poor quality vintage this year and we should have a good quantity also.”

With the gulf between Bordeaux’s top properties and the rest growing ever wider, Mau notes some real issues affecting the more mainstream end of the market. Firstly, he comments on the viability of the region at lower price points, saying: “I think Bordeaux is a very good producer at £10 and above, but below that the cost is too much to make good wines and I think a lot of producers will disappear.”

As evidence of the pressure Bordeaux is already under in the export markets, Mau notes that the region’s export sales have fallen significantly in several key markets over the past year. “Korea is down 40%, Belgium is down 16% and Russia is down by 21%”, he reveals, adding: “It’s only Japan and China which are staying strong.”

In particular, Mau acknowledges Bordeaux’s inability to compete at some important price points with other wine producing regions. “Denmark is dead”, he states, adding: “We lost 38% of sales there last year for Bordeaux wine; it’s all about the New World there.” He notes a similar situation in the UK, saying: “Bordeaux loses some of the English market every year. We’re not losing it because the English don’t drink any more, but because they are drinking New World wine.”

While accepting that Bordeaux will never regain the level of sales it used to enjoy in the UK, Mau identifies one key issue which he believes could help to strengthen Bordeaux’s appeal: “The appellation system is dead; it’s too complicated. Today to be strong we need to be big.”

It also seems the fate of many smaller Bordeaux producers lies increasingly in the hands of the négociants. Mau explains: “Today you need to be an expert in production, but also marketing and sales. We get support in our marketing from the négociant.” Of course, this reliance can impose a different type of pressure on producers, as Mau points out: “The négociant has no obligation to buy the wine if it is not good, it was a poor year, or just because they don’t think they will be able to sell it.”

On the subject of Bordeaux’s marketing approach, or lack of it, Jonathan Evans, managing director of Summit SP, the promotional marketing agency which works with the CIVB (Conseil Interprofessional du Vin de Bordeaux), offers an illuminating point. Recent online research by his company has revealed that the four words most associated with the region by UK consumers are: Médoc, Bordeaux, St Emilion and Claret.

Whether or not this is the result the trade and producers would choose, it certainly offers a logical starting point for any marketing drive. And while the top of the hierarchy is clearly in no need of any help, the evidence here alone suggests that the rest of the pyramid is in urgent need of support.

Gabriel Savage, 10.09.09