Négociant promises to demystify Bordeaux with new brand

Négociant Yvon Mau has launched a new Bordeaux brand designed to increase the region’s appeal among a younger generation of drinkers in Europe.

Le Petit Grand has been created to make Bordeaux “more accessible”

Called Le Petit Grand, the new brand will be priced around £9 in the UK with just two wines in the range, both of which are sealed under screwcap.

With labels featuring a rabbit casting the shadow of a lion and a stag (see left and below), the new product is meant to be a little bit humorous, according to Yvon Mau’s marketing manager Frédérique Lenoir.

It is also designed to demystify the region.

“It has been created for the consumer who doesn’t drink Bordeaux because they think it’s too complicated,” she said.

The wines – a Semillon-Sauvignon Blanc and a Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon – have been made in a soft and fruity style “to make Bordeaux accessible”, she added.

Yvon Mau research has shown that wine drinkers in the UK and northern Europe perceive Bordeaux as complex, food-focused and expensive.

It is hoped that the new brand, which is varietally-labelled, will encourage a new generation of consumers to drink Bordeaux, particularly those who currently purchase wines from the New World.

According to Lenoir, Yvon Mau is in discussions with a major multiple retailer but has yet to achieve a listing for Le Petit Grand, which was officially launched this week at Vinexpo.

Yvon Mau’s Premius Bordeaux brand was pulled from the UK in 2010 but sells well in China

Yvon Mau hope to sell 500,000 bottles worldwide of Le Petit Grand in its first year with a longer term plan to hit 3 million bottles in global sales.

The négociant also own and manage the Premius mid-priced Bordeaux brand but pulled the wine from the UK market in 2010 after 10 years, although it is still present in other countries, and is performing well in China.

Meanwhile, Jean-Christophe Mau, who manages the crus classés Bordeaux business for the négociant, said that en primeur sales this year were down 30% compared to the previous year.

Although prices for 2012 Bordeaux have dropped 7% on average, he said that prices were still 30% up on 2008 and 1% more than 2005.

“When you know that you can understand why the campaign has been so bad,” he said.

He also noted that négociants have bought fewer cases of the 2012 vintage as they are still holding unsold stock from the 2011 harvest, with an estimated 30-40% of the vintage still without buyers.

“People are being cautious, they [the négociants] are not buying to build up stocks, but just for sales, so the châteaux will be holding more stock,” he added.

This is in contrast to the 2011 vintage, when négociants bought large quantities of the vintage following successful campaigns in 2009 and 2010.