Lindsay du Vin

Most of, and maybe all, the talk about the Bordeaux region of late has been focused on the ’09 Futures campaign. All it takes is a few quick scans and the average person is left with the impression that Bordeaux has become the Bentley of wines—a luxury to be enjoyed by the precious few (or not at all, but cellared away indefinitely within some investment portfolio).

Attending the Sauternes tasting at the ’09 Primeurs reminded me a bit like a scene out of Goldfinger—nearly all bottles were draped in shiny gold foil. For sure, it made quite the impression. However, I wondered why producers would go through the effort of individually wrapping each barrel sample—was it really just for show?

This was not the case for the red Bordeaux samples. Producers either used the same label (with the prior vintage being crossed out and the current vintage written in) or employed a special label devoted just to barrel samples. However, for the Sauternes samples, each bottle was wrapped individually, a producer label placed on the outside of the foil, and the usual neck label added to complete the packaging.

As I’ve learned these past few weeks while re-visiting ’09 Bordeaux samples together with my colleagues at Millesima, this rather exquisite packaging is not reserved solely for the Primeurs tastings. Even now, the half-bottles of Sauternes we receive on a weekly basis are still arriving decked out in their gold foil.

So, I decided to investigate further…

Going straight to the source, I asked a friend and fellow Wine MBA grad, Guillaume Forcade, who is now the Marketing & Export Manager at Château Broustet. According to Guillaume, the reason behind using the gold foil mostly has to do with keeping the wine from spoiling at such a young phase in its development.

Though completely fermented at the time of Primeurs (end of March), dead yeast is still present in the wine. Generally, these dead yeast cells would fall to the bottom of the barrel and be racked off. However, at the time the samples are drawn, the yeast has not yet made it to the bottom and consequently, continues to float around in the wine. However, when the dead yeast is exposed to UV rays, it will start to break down and impart acrid, bitter flavors to the wine—what Guillaume refers to as “the taste of light”. Therefore, the outside wrapping is necessary to shield the light and prevent the dead yeast cells from decomposing. However, in the case of red wines, this isn’t necessary because the tannins are there to shield the UV rays.

On a further note, Guillaume did add there is indeed also an aesthetic reason for using the outside wrapping—-the wines are not clear at the time of Primeurs, which could give tasters (accustomed to viewing pristine bottles of Sauternes) a bad initial impression. In this regard, I’d say the gold foil more than solved that concern—these bottles are dressed to impressed!

Sauternes today is faced with a dilemma. The region currently produces 8 million bottles a year of its sweet wine; yet, sells just 5 million―there simply is not enough demand. I personally believe some of this has to do with the fact that many consumers perceive Sauternes as being a “dessert wine” (a habit the region is looking to break) and therefore, are accustomed to serving it only during dessert.

In France, Sauternes is customarily served as a pre-dinner aperitif, often accompanied with foie gras. During the holidays, supermarket shelves are well-stocked with both wine and pâté at various prices points. Yet, outside of France, consumption is fairly modest. The reason why may be cultural (sweet wine = dessert only), or economical (too expensive!), or gastronomical (you’re saying I’m suppose to drink this with goose liver?)

Ch. Broustet’s Marketing & Export Manager, Guillaume Forcade, barrel-samples the ’09 dry white wine.

So, given this dilemma, if you’re a Sauternes producer looking to make a profit in today’s market, what can you do? Here’s a look at how one producer has incorporated a few creative ideas and some commonsense practices to remain competitive.

Château Broustet

My MBA class recently traveled to the Sauternes region, which included a visit to Château Broustet, a second classified growth from the 1855 Sauternes and Barsac classification (a ranking of Bordeaux’s sweet wines according to market value―not to be confused with the Médoc classification from the same year that ranks the region’s red wines).

We were welcomed by Marketing and Export Manager (and recent BIWI graduate), Guillaume Forcade. Guillaume gave us a very brief tour of the outside vineyards (cut short by the frigid temps), then led everyone inside the cellars to introduce us to the wines of Château Broustet.

Same grapes, different style

Like most Sauternes producers, Ch. Broustet is also having difficulty selling its sweet wine. Yet, demand for dry white wine is increasing, particularly in the export markets where Guillaume concentrates most of the property’s sales efforts. Ch. Broustet is now increasing production of its Le Blanc Sec, which is made from the same grapes used for its namesake sweet wine (Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle), only without the influence of Botrytis.

Guillaume let us barrel-sample the ’09 Le Blanc Sec. I honestly couldn’t tell I was tasting an unfinished wine. The nose was of very ripe tropical fruit (notably pineapple) mixed in with toasted sugar. The taste was delicious. There were flavors of marshmallow and caramelized sugar intermingled with pineapple and papaya―and no biting acidity what-so-ever. It’s one of those wines that just melts in your mouth if you let it sit there long enough.     

A flyer for a Christmas party announcing the arrival of “Sweet Broustet.”

Already, 20,000 bottles of Ch. Broustet’s ’09 dry white have been sold en primeur. Since it’s not sweet, it must be classified as an AOC Bordeaux. However, the property is still allowed to promote its second growth classification status on the label because the wine is coming from the same land. Also, since its dry wine production yields 3x more product than its sweet wine, Ch. Broustet is fully capable of increasing production numbers to meet the growing demand for dry white wine.  

Single-serving Sauternes

Guillaume also introduced “Sweet Broustet” to the château’s product lineup. Packaged in single-serving test tube-shaped bottles with screw cap closures, Sweet Broustet is a new representation of the property’s sweet wine intended for nightclubs and other party-like occasions.  Its innovative packaging promotes consumption under new circumstances―in lieu of the usual foie gras or dessert pairings, Sauternes can now be consumed together with strobe lights, disco balls, and well, Johnny Hallyday.