| For centuries, Bordeaux has been the wine against which all others are measured. Not only for its quality, but also for the efficiency of trade and the enormous prosperity it generated. The region’s stately chateaux have become symbols of what it means to be fine wine.
Traditionally, it was the English who bought these wines, carefully aging them in their cool, damp cellars. But much has changed in the past decade and the new global economy has revolutionized how claret is bought and consumed throughout the world.
Japanese and American buyers, looking for a piece of the action, are now often willing to pay prices far beyond what the typical British consumers have grown accustomed to paying. Thus, Bordeaux has been able to expand its markets and reap the benefits of increased worldwide demand – but these new markets have not come without a price.
The new consumers are more fickle and less bound by tradition, easily swayed by the media from one chateau to another. Although these newfound admirers of claret come with deep pockets, they seem to lack the patience of the traditional English buyer. They demand that wine be made in a style that offers instant gratification, the way the California and Australian wines do. But this is a style not easily produced in the cooler region of Bordeaux. While famous vintages, like 1982 or 2000, have cranked out some super-concentrated and opulent wines, these are not what Bordeaux built its rock-solid reputation producing. Bordeaux now finds itself competing on uneasy ground. An arena once ruled by the powerful names of the Medoc and Pomerol are now measured against tenacious cabernet bandits from Tuscany to Coonawara.
With a seemly new style of Bordeaux emerging that appears more rich, lush, soft and drinkable, the camps in Bordeaux are becoming increasingly divided into those that believe the new wines are superior and those that believe they have betrayed what it means to be Bordeaux. Many of those on the left bank of the Gironde are carrying the torch of more austere, tighter-knit and longer-aging wines; while there is a growing faction on the right bank producing super-ripe merlot that would seem at home on Napa’s warmest hillsides. These two styles are becoming increasingly distinct from one another, to the extent that Bordeaux is rarely spoken of today without the descriptor of "modern" or "traditional."
But holding on to the old ways may prove too difficult for many of Bordeaux’s old guard. Today it is the media that drives the market and these newly-fashioned, plush Bordeaux wines have won such favour in the press that they regularly sell for more than the traditionally prestigious wines. The celebrated classified growths, which have commanded top honours since the 1800s, are looking on as small, neophyte producers are emerging with prices equal to and often higher than their own. This leaves many traditionalists feeling uneasy, as the structure of pricing they have come to rely on so heavily is slowly decaying beneath their grape-stained feet.
The debate over the lack of character and charm of these new wines and their alleged inability to age seems almost pointless, as consumers are drinking them faster than producers can bottle and cork them. As for the traditional English claret buyers, it seems their monopoly of Bordeaux has come to an end as wealthy Americans and Asians scoop up vast quantities of what was once London-bound.
So, as Bordeaux struggles to keep its new markets happy while retaining old alliances, the river that divides the region seems to grow wider. Those who embrace the new styles and those who bitterly oppose them will continue to clash, and Bordeaux will have to move forward despite their differences. But now they will not only have the rest of the world to compete with, but also each other. |
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