Call it what you will – Brand, Signature or Label – Brand Strategy is going to be a major issue for the leading châteaux of Bordeaux from 2015. It is all about better controlling the distribution of their wines, getting to know who’s who within the markets where they are present and, of course, effectively managing their château’s image worldwide. And last week’s “scandal” when Pontet-Canet’s second wine lost its AOC classification was the first tell-tale sign.
Yes, it is true, other than the famous “Champagne Day”, the global buzz in the wine world last week began in a local French newspaper, the Sud-Ouest: “Château Pontet-Canet, the fifth growth wine under the 1855 Classification system, has been denied Pauillac controlled designation of origin (AOC) status for the 2012 vintage of its second wine, Les Hauts de Pontet-Canet.” What? Is not being able to write Pauillac on the label of its second wine a huge loss for Pontet-Canet? In terms of prestige perhaps? Let me ask you a question: “What is more prestigious – having ‘Pauillac’ on the label or being called a ‘Vin de France’ wine from Château Pontet-Canet?”
This tale is symbolic of the seismic shift under way among the major châteaux of Bordeaux. At VitaBella Luxury Wine, we saw the first signs of this evolution while advising some of these great names in wine. Just 10 years ago, Pontet-Canet would have been furious about this declassification, and with reason. Back then they needed the Pauillac AOC to sell their second wine. In 2014, they barely think about it. As the French magazine La Revue du Vin de France delights in reminding us: “A good quality fifth cru, in the space of a little more than a decade Pontet-Canet has become one of the most sought after Médoc labels.” The fact is, the Pontet-Canet brand carries more weight than a Pauillac AOC when it comes to marketing its second wine internationally. And the issue here for Château Pontet-Canet is not a French one but very much an international one. As far as the château is concerned, what counts most is the quality of the wine and its image around the world. Why has Pontet-Canet grasped this faster than the others? Because the owners understood that this was surely the only way they could escape the pigeon-hole in which the restrictions of the 1855 Classification had placed it – that of being an honourable but modest fifth growth wine.
They have much greater ambitions than that. As Alfred Tesseron, owner of Château Pontet-Canet put it: “Hauts de Pontet-Canet 2012 has not been approved and will therefore carry the ‘Vin de France’ denomination (…) I am very proud of this wine and have absolute confidence in its quality as have 99.9% of traders who have confirmed their orders.” There is nothing ambiguous about these comments; in the end, the name Pauillac on a second wine is not such a big deal. What is important, and what the buyer is looking for is the Pontet-Canet “style”. Style – yet another synonym for the word “brand”, that word so derided in the world of leading wines.
(*Since 2003, Guillaume Jourdan has been advising more than 200 prestigious wine estates for their international Marketing & Communication strategy incl. Chapoutier, Hugel, Dr Loosen, Famille Perrin, Cos d’Estournel, Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie’s Miraval…Write to Guillaume info@vitabella.fr)
