century
in particular had to give ground to the production of exclusive sweet wines en-
joyed by more than just female foodies. This utterly blissful period – when the
vineyards of the Gironde were literally bursting at the seams and in addition to
the true top terroirs also occupied soils that would have been better used for
growing corn – was brought to a terrible end by the phylloxera crisis, stock mar-
ket crash and two world wars. This was a long drawn-out tragedy, as the region
constantly fought back but was ultimately forced to surrender. By the late 1940s,
Grand Crus existed only in memory in many areas. The Bordeaux wine as we
know it today is not centuries old, but is in fact now only barely reaching retire-
ment age. Bordeaux's return to its current lofty heights began around the turn of
the millennium, with the enthusiastic adoption of new technology which in the
best cases works hand-in-hand with age-old experience, and observance of the
golden rule that if you want to stay healthy and keep chalking up profits then
you have to master the art of selling your products, which requires international
distribution along a well-oiled, seamless chain stretching from the owner or a
director of an estate, who is responsible for the wine's quality and typicity (i.e. its
recognition factor), via merchants and wholesalers to general agents in distant
lands. This is how it works in Bordeaux: producers make wine from a selected
terroir using specially adapted grape varieties, which when blended ensure a
very particular style whose key characteristics are body, density and tannins
which develop as time passes. This style is elevated to the position of a system
and a brand which insists on its uniqueness. The producers cannot keep all the
profit for themselves, as A) they would be the only people willing and able to
brag about its uniqueness and B) they would be unable to a
ff
ord a global dis-
tribution network which is expensive to maintain, multiplies production costs
and forces the profit curve into a downward trend. So they have twenty, thirty
or fifty merchants on hand who must all sing the same tune for advertising and
distribution purposes. In return, they must be paid, which is no problem at all as
they simply increase the purchase price.
As investment in a brand is only worthwhile if it is spread out consistently
over a long period of time, clever merchants corner the market on certain wines
(those viewed as the most legendary, most expensive or most sought-after) be-
fore harvesting has even finished. This is what is now called ‘vente en primeur',
presented with great fanfare in the spring after the harvest. It involves purchase
via subscription, previously called ‘vente sur souche' or ‘option' and simply
means hogging the wines before they have even been bottled. This brings a
third partner into play, namely the broker or courtier, acting as a link between
Château Montrose
41
Brand and style History
estates and merchants. Why not sell direct? Quite simply because the broker
is a neutral party representing the interests of both partners, who would other-
wise be trying to get the better of one another. Brokers themselves do not sell
wines but simply take a fixed margin of four per cent, so it is in their interest to
regularly procure su
ffi
cient quantities, correctly assess the sales situation, the
demand and also the quality of the wine, and in the best cases justify a high
price (which helps the owner) whilst also ensuring that the wine remains af-
fordable to trade partners, who would otherwise go bankrupt or take their busi-
ness elsewhere. And to prevent brokers from deciding to engage in dumping
and undermine prices rather than following the unwritten rule of adhering to
a price guideline, sly sellers have been known to offer their daughters' hands
in marriage: the world of top Bordeaux is one huge family and solidarity rules
among family members, at least o
ffi
cially. Despite all the gloomy predictions,
this system which is so often written off has never functioned so well as over
the past twenty years, with the piper being paid (whether we like it or not) by
Bordeaux fans like us all over the world.
The theatre of aging
The road to success is a rocky one made of gravel, up to ten metres deep. The
benefits of this soil are that it drains water yet still always remains damp, is a
