In September 2018 the New York Post declared the September Issue was dead. That we could now wave goodbye to the big moment in the editorial calendar that coincided with New York, London and Paris fashion week and produced the glossiest and most profitable issue of the year.
I can remember taking envious bets with my editor when working at a (travel) magazine in Hong Kong in the 1990s as to how many pages of car, makeup and fashion adverts we would have to flick through in Vogue and Vanity Fair before getting to the first piece of editorial.
It might be some time before the magazine industry manages to revive that tradition, but Bordeaux has suddenly woken up to the potential of its own version of the September Issue, as ‘La Place’ becomes the go-to spot to source new releases of top wines from Napa, Sonoma, Chile, Argentina, Italy, South Africa.
This year, for the first time, a select band of wines billed as ‘Australian first growths’ are joining them – including:
- Wynn’s John Riddoch Cabernet;
- Jim Barry The Armagh Shiraz;
- Yarra Valley’s Dominique Portet;
- and cult Margaret River producer Cloudburst.
There are plans for more Australian releases next year, too.
Another notable feature of September 2020 is the growing number of Bordeaux châteaux expected to release mature vintages; Latour 2009, Palmer 2010 and Léoville Las Cases 2002 (or 2013, as yet undecided) to name three of the most prominent.
In Sauternes, Château d’Yquem will also be releasing its 2018 vintage for the first time, as well as the 2019 vintage of its dry white wine, Y d’Yquem. The estate is no longer part of the en primeur system.
History
It’s not been a smooth ride getting to this point. Bordeaux châteaux and merchants have always been extremely happy to open their doors to any number of overseas arrivals, just as long as they are buying the local wines.
The region made its name, on the other hand, through being frosty to wine-producing regions beyond its borders.
Right back in the 12th century, local laws granted by the English under the Plantagenet dynasty said that no other regional wines were allowed to leave the port of Bordeaux until after 11 November, a good two months after harvest.
And if you think local châteaux are the only ones resistant to the recent spate of international wines coming through the Place de Bordeaux, spare a thought for the traditional distributors in other markets, from the UK to Switzerland to Hong Kong, many of whom have had to give up their exclusivities on these brands.
But from a slow start back in 2001, the number of international wines selling through Bordeaux is now somewhere around 40, with perhaps half as many again selling through only one négociant in a kind of hybrid model.
This is the first time they have been brought together in one tasting, giving an insight into the amazing range of regions and vintages.
These are all icon wines from their respective countries, so the high scores should not be a surprise, but it’s worth noting that few came up against challenging vintages and are showing it.
The standouts of the tasting for me are The Armagh Shiraz 2016, Inglenook Rubicon 2017, Galatrona Petrolo 2018 and Bibi Graetz’s toweringly good Tastamatta 2018.
If this method of distribution brings wines like these wines to a wider audience, we all benefit.
First wines
To back up a little, the first international wines to join La Place had Bordeaux connections. It was no coincidence that they were co-owned by the Rothschilds at Mouton, a family with enough clout to convince sceptical négociants of the potential of the strategy, or at least the necessity of paying lip service to it.
Almaviva was the first (a joint-venture between the Rothschilds and Chile’s Concha y Toro), trading entirely through the Place right from its inaugural vintage in 1998.
Opus One arrived with the 2001 vintage, released in 2004. The California estate, which began as a 50-50 venture between Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild and is now jointly owned by the Rothschilds and Constellation Brands, added a second wine, Overture, in 2016.
The Albada Jelgersma family of Château Giscours provides another Bordeaux link with their Tuscan estate Caiarossa, available via the Place from its first vintage of 2004.
Today, selling international wines has grown into a sizeable slice of négociants’ annual income, at least for the lucky ones who are given the contracts.
While Bordeaux châteaux often split their production between 30 or 40 négociants, the international wines released in September tend to be handled by between three and six merchant houses.
It’s now common for merchants to put together slick presentations and fly out (yes, pre-Covid) to Napa and beyond to make the case for this unusual-yet-highly-effective selling method.
Other examples of Bordeaux connections include Klein Constantia in South Africa, which is co-owned by Bruno Prats and Hubert de Boüard, and Sonoma’s Verité, owned by Kendall-Jackson (and winemaker Pierre Seillan), which also has Château Lassegue in St-Emilion.
New arrivals and unusual additions
A few more recent arrivals qualify in the same vein. LVMH’s Cheval des Andes, which is a joint-venture between Cheval Blanc and Terrazas de los Andes, is now on the Place for the second year, having switched over from Moët Hennessy’s own sales network for all regions except South America and the Caribbean.
And at L’Aventure in Paso Robles you’ll find the brilliant Stephan Asseo, who used to own three châteaux in Bordeaux, including La Fleur Cardinale.
Two new arrivals in 2020 also have Bordeaux connections, if tangentially.
First up is Dominique Portet in Australia’s Yarra Valley. His father was winery manager of Lafite Rothschild when he was growing up in Bordeaux.
And I guess we could also stretch to Beaulieu Vineyard from Napa. Beaulieu is part of Treasury Wine Estates that has recently bought Cambon la Pelouse in the Médoc. Putting the two together clearly shows the company has staked its claim in the sales system of Bordeaux.
However, at least as many international wines released via the Place have no direct links to Bordeaux. They have simply made the commercial decision to work with its distribution system.
The first of these was Masseto from Tenuta dell-Ornellaia, which arrived in 2008 by releasing its 2006 vintage. It put 20% of its overall production through the Place. This year, it is the turn of Masseto 2017, and the winery is also releasing its second wine, Massetino, through the same system for the first time in 2020.
Solaia, made by the Antinori Family, arrived one year after Masseto, followed by Hommage à Jacques Perrin from Château de Beaucastel in the Rhône Valley and Chile’s Seña in 2011.
A surge of others have followed over the past five years, with the most unusual perhaps being Bodega Garzón’s Balasto from Uruguay, choosing La Place just for buyers in France and Asia, but continuing to go direct with other markets.
This is a pattern that you also find with the Perrin family, who put Hommage à Jacques Perrin through La Place for global distribution outside of France but only work with Bordeaux négociants for Château de Beaucastel and Côtes du Rhône Coudoulet de Beaucastel for sales to China, Hong Kong and Macau.
September Releases: The full list
Argentina
Catena Zapata, Nicolás Catena Zapata, Uco Valley, Argentina 2017
Cheval des Andes, Mendoza, Argentina 2017
Australia
Cloudburst, Chardonnay, Margaret River, Australia 2018
Cloudburst, Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River, Australia 2017
Wynns Coonawarra Estate, John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra, Australia 2016 – released at £474 per 6 x 75cl In Bond
Jim Barry, The Armagh Shiraz, Clare Valley, Australia 2016
Dominique Portet, Cabernet Sauvignon, Yarra Valley, Australia 2017
Chile
Seña, Aconcagua, Chile 2018 – released at £495 per 6 x 75cl In Bond
Errazuriz, Viñedo Chadwick, Puente Alto, Chile 2018 – released at £678 per 3 x 75cl In Bond
Almaviva, Puente Alto, Chile 2018- released at £606 per 6 x 75cl In Bond
Clos Apalta, Casa Lapostolle, Colchagua Valley, Chile, 2017 – released at £447 per 6 x 75cl In Bond
France
L’Odysée, Vin de France, Rhône, France 2017
Château Palmer, Margaux 3ème Cru Classé, Bordeaux, France 2010
Château de Beaucastel, Coudoulet de Beaucastel, Côtes du Rhône 2018
Château de Beaucastel, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Rhône, France 2018
Château de Beaucastel, Hommage à Jacques Perrin, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Rhône, France 2018
Château Latour, Bordeaux, France 2009
Château d’Yquem, Bordeaux, France 2018
Château d’Yquem, Y d’Yquem, Bordeaux, France 2019
Italy
Orma, Bolgheri, Tuscany, Italy 2018
Fattoria Petrolo, Galatrona, Valdarno di Sopra, Bolgheri, Tuscany, Italy 2018
Mazzei, Siepi, Bolgheri, Tuscany, Italy 2018
Podere Giodo, Brunello di Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy 2016
Caiarossa, Rosso di Toscana, Tuscany, Italy 2017
Bibi Graetz, Testamatta, Tuscany, Italy 2018 – released at £420 per 6 x 50cl In Bond
Bibi Graetz, Colore, Tuscany, Italy 2018 – released at £540 per 3 x 50cl In Bond
Antinori, Solaia, Tuscany, Italy 2017
Masseto, Massetino, Tuscany, Italy
Masseto, Tuscany, Italy 2017
South Africa
Klein Constantia, Vin de Constance, Constantia, South Africa 2017 – released at £39 per 50cl, £234 per 6 x 50cl In Bond
Uruguay
Bodega Garzón, Balasto, Canelones, Uruguay 2015
Bodega Garzón, Balasto, Canelones, Uruguay 2016
Bodega Garzón, Balasto, Canelones, Uruguay 2017
USA
Opus One, Napa Valley Oakville, USA 2017
Opus One, Overture, Napa Valley Oakville, USA
Inglenook, Rubicon, Napa Valley Rutherford, USA 2017
Inglenook, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley Rutherford, USA 2017
Inglenook, 1882, Napa Valley Rutherford, USA 2017
Inglenook, Rubicon, Napa Valley Rutherford, USA 2013
Vérité, La Joie, Sonoma County, California, USA 2016
Vérité, La Muse, Sonoma County, California, USA 2016
Vérité, Le Désir, Sonoma County, California, USA 2016
L’Aventure, Estate Cuvé, Paso Robles Willow Creek, California, USA 2018
Beaulieu Vineyard, Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley Rutherford, USA 2017
Quintessa, Napa Valley Rutherford, USA 2017
Joseph Phelps, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, USA 2017
Joseph Phelps, Insignia, Napa Valley, USA 2017
Dalla Valle Vineyards, Maya, Napa Valley, USA 2017
L’Aventure, Optimus, Paso Robles, USA 2018
L’Aventure, Côte à Côte, Paso Robles, California, USA 2018
Quintessa, Napa Valley Rutherford, USA 2016
Quintessa, Napa Valley Rutherford, USA 2013
Quintessa, Napa Valley Rutherford, USA 2010
Négociant power
Laurent Bonnet, of Joanne négociant firm, one of the key players in this market, told me that recognition of Bordeaux merchants’ knowledge of Asia has really driven the success of the September releases.
‘Asia is often viewed as one big commercial block, but of course the reality is that it is a huge area with cultural differences not just between countries but also within regions,’ said Bonnet.
‘And it is an area that has seen huge growth and retraction in the wine trade, meaning that trading companies and importers appear and disappear regularly. Négociants have the experience now, after several decades in Asia, to help secure effective long-term distribution at all levels of the market.’
Laura Catena spoke earlier in the year of wanting to ensure fine wine lovers all over the world could have access to Catena Zapata, and that the Place de Bordeaux was part of her 100-year plan for allowing that to become a reality.
This seems to reflect the reasoning behind many of the arrivals. ‘We appreciate the diversity of routes to market and huge network of buyers that the Place allows,’ Edouardo Chadwick, cofounder of Seña, told me last year. This year, I have tasted Seña both at a local wine merchant in Bordeaux and via Zoom with the estate.
‘Having a single agent per market in distribution can work, but inevitably it is very niche,’ he said.
‘The Place gives you access to different distribution channels and is extremely effective at expanding your brand as they have a great deal of knowledge in the marketing of fine wines.’
As an observer, I’ve been impressed by how much this is a true two-way relationship, with Bordeaux gaining just as much as the new arrivals.
These already-established icon brands have clear and successful strategies in place for identifying buyers and retaining loyalty, and they expect full clarity from négociants in terms of who the end buyers are and how they are going to be reached and retained.
This was still surprisingly rare in the relationship between négociants and Bordeaux châteaux until a few years ago. I have little doubt that seeing how Opus and others work has helped to crystallise the importance of maintaining control and being true partners with the merchants for distribution.
Will there be demand?
The reception that the wines will receive this year is less clear.
We have been used to seeing the September releases finding a willing market, but everything is different in September 2020.
It’s not an easy moment economically for anyone, even for sure-fire commercial hits like Opus One and Masseto. It will be interesting to see if they follow the Bordeaux en primeur strategy and drop prices. On average, Bordeaux 2019 en primeur prices were 22% below 2018.
Typically, however, pricing is more linear in these international wines, without the yo-yo releases that we are used to in Pauillac and co, so I would expect less extreme price cuts. That said, the global economy looks even more precarious than it did in June 2020 when Bordeaux released its 2019 vintage en primeur.
At the very least, it is clear that this is not the moment to move prices upwards. Currencies are unstable everywhere and as La Place buys in the home currency of the estates, it is at risk from these fluctuations.
It is still unclear how much stock négociants are willing to hold on to if they have to. With Bordeaux châteaux it has long been part of the deal that négociants buy in good and bad times, but we are yet to see if that will be true for the international wines.
Almaviva’s commercial director, Francisco Zilleruelo, told Liv-ex earlier this year that he hoped the Place might be just the right place in 2020. ‘The open market distribution system allows them to be very flexible. If one market is struggling, they can easily offer the wine to others,’ he said.
‘This makes it more flexible than the traditional model of one exclusive importer per country, which is generally more rigid.’ This sounds great in theory, but which market is not struggling right now?
For Bordeaux châteaux coming in to join the September Issue, things are even more complicated. What happens if international distributors don’t buy the older releases? Will it impact their en primeur allocations next year? And is there an appetite for mature Bordeaux at a time when international merchants have just starting getting used to looking to the Place for their icon Italian and Napa labels at this time of year?
We won’t have long to find out…
See Jane Anson’s tasting notes and scores on the 20 September releases from the USA
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