Unrest over St Emilion system ‘disturbing’

The Institut National des Appellations d’Origine’s (INAO) continued silence over legal challenges brought against it by chateaux demoted in its 2012 classification of St Emilion is very “disturbing”, says the vice-president of the region’s Grand Cru Classés Association.

The INAO is facing legal challenges from four estates, Croque-Michotte, Corbin-Michotte and La Tour-du-Pin-Figeac, who were stripped of their Grand Cru status in 2012. All three filed individual appeals to a Bordeaux administrative tribunal in January 2013 demanding the annulment of the classification, however there has been little progress since.

Speaking to the drinks business at a Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classés tasting in London yesterday Laurence Brun, vice-president of the Association de Grands Crus Classés de Saint-Emilion, said producers had been left in the dark for too long.

“We are fed up but we must be confident with it”, Brun said: “It’s very complicated. I’m very upset about the politics and about people that are in charge of that. They must make a decision, yes or no. We still don’t know at which level it is going to. If there is a problem they must be able to change only the problem of the chateaux who have the problem and not change everything. We try in St Emilion to use [the classification] to help the consumer to find the good wines. In fact it’s too complicated to help people, its disturbing.”

The re-classification of the region in 2012 saw Château Pavie and Château Angélus promoted to Premier Grand Cru Classés A status, four chateaux promoted to Premier Grand Cru Classés B status, while three châteaux were stripped of their Grand Cru status.

Pauline Vauthier, winemaker and co-manager of Château Ausone, one of four Premiers Grands Cru Classés A estates, dubbed the region’s classification system “a big mess” adding that Ausone wasn’t even using the title on marketing material as she was keen to distance herself from the situation.

While confirming that producers in the region were none the wiser as to the progress of the case, Brun suggested that those involved could be “afraid to ask” questions for fear of causing further upset with the INAO. Admitting the situation was “very disturbing”, Brun urged winemakers to focus not on the classification system but on their work in the vineyards.

She added: “The idea is to make the best wines as possible, better vinification and viticulture of course. That is the point.”

While legal wrangles continue to roll on, Brun was optimistic about Bordeaux’s upcoming en primeur campaign and was upbeat about St Emilon’s 2014 vintage – a vintage considered to have been rescued by the arrival of an Indian summer in September – which she said was “very good”.

“We really felt like we had been saved, it really is a good vintage”, she said. “Perhaps I’m too confident because the 2013 is not far from now, but really it is very good news.”

Of the 2011 and 2012 St Emilion vintages on show at the tasting at Altitude in London’s Millbank yesterday, Brun said they represented a “classic” Bordeaux vintage.

She said: “We can’t do an ’09 or ’10 every year. Bordeaux is known for its terroir, so every year there are different climates so there is a different expression of that terroir. That is the link we want to show. We can’t make wine like California or Chile. Every year something will change. There are exceptional vintages of ’09, ’10 and ’00, but those vintages are too expensive. They are something you know exist but that you can’t afford. What is much more important is the other vintages and the classics as they are good enough for everyone to enjoy.”

On the outlook for the upcoming en primeur campaign, and responding to concerns by UK merchants that en primeur prices had become out of control, Brun warned that once prices had risen, it was difficult for producers to go back.

“There is no rule for the en primeur”, she said. “Each château is going to have a different take depending on its own problems. If you have a small vineyard, little by little, it becomes more and more expensive. If little by little you go up, step by step, you can’t go back.”

She added: “The en primeur system is exceptional. It helps the winemakers to make their wines because they need the money before the season. It is a big machine that works even if there are some problems. I think you must put some oil in the movement and help it grow again, but I’m sure that people who know the wine know which château to buy from, and nobody is obliged to buy from the most expensive château.”