En Primeur Bordeaux
En Primeur Bordeaux Welcome Party
Each spring, En Primeur week in Bordeaux signals one of this fine wine region’s most important calendar events.
This year, the welcome evening was hosted by Château Figeac and orchestrated by the member-created Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB).
It was delightful to revisit this classic Saint-Émilion estate. I’d been fortunate enough to dine here more than ten years ago, where I had sat across the table from Madame Manoncourt herself.
That long-ago dinner reinforced the values and culture of “classic Bordeaux” and allowed me to taste some of Figeac’s library wines.
At last week’s event, Madame Manoncourt was as elegant and well-spoken as she had been during my earlier visit. She was quite gracious as she sincerely thanked international journalists and the trade for their support during her welcoming address.
By her side was Francois-Xavier Maroteaux, the incoming UGCB president. He thanked his team for their hard work in planning this activity-intense week.
En Primeur Bordeaux Welcome Party Wines
Guests entered Château Figeac through the gorgeous new vat room, where the wines are fermented before the aging process.
Decorated with flowers, it was elegant enough to hold a black-tie soirée.
Imperial-Sized Bottle of Château Figeac 2009
Then, the stairs led up to a glass-enclosed outdoor space where guests could choose from a wide array of classic vintage wines from the UGCB châteaux.
Headlining these wines were several Imperial-sized bottles of the excellent 2009 vintage from Château Figeac itself. Well-balanced, savory, with a long finish that attests to its ability to further improve with age, it was quite extraordinary.
An Imperial holds six liters, or eight bottles. This size was more than enough for everyone at the event to have a delicious taste of this classic vintage.
The Party. The People. The Savory “Bites”
A talented band played upbeat music during this welcome party, enlivening the atmosphere.
Servers passed hot and cold hors d’œuvres, yet guests could also choose from some very creative “finger food” offered at various tables.
Though I loved the elaborate cheese table, a favorite was a vegetarian corner. Here, a chef with a giant French toque spent serious time carving shapes out of vegetables—literally as pretty as a picture.
The Château Figeac UGCB Event
Aside from the elegance of the party, the biggest treat was the opportunity to greet and thank many of the château owners I’ve visited for this En Primeur event over the last 15 years.
En Primeur Bordeaux: The New Vintage
Large, structured tasting events—like the vintage presentation in New York earlier this year, and especially the official vintage tasting event in Bordeaux at Hangar 14 that kicks off En Primeur week—are the primary places to taste the wines of the new vintage.
Yet the “behind-the-scenes” tastings of these wines are incredibly valuable and treasured.
Over the years, I was fortunate enough to have a personal, owner-led tour of individual vineyards and even experience daily château life as a guest at their château for dinner or for a short stay.
During these visits, I was able to experience the evolution of each château’s wines—and also the evolution of the owners’ offspring, from little kids to young adults, ready to take their place as the new leaders of their family estate.
Familiar Faces
Entering the party, I was able to greet Véronique Sanders of Château Haut-Bailly, and her husband Alexander Van Beek of Château Giscours.
Nearby were Céline Villars-Foubet and Jean Merlaut, co-owners of Château Chasse-Spleen and Château Gruaud Larose. I have very warm memories of spending a few days with this charming couple at their châteaux, in addition to the high quality of their wines.
During my visit, Céline served as the classical model for Bordeaux hospitality—with Champagne before dinner, many vintages of Château Chasse-Spleen during dinner, and digestifs after dinner.
I also enjoyed a short conversation with Lilian Barton Sartorius of Château Léoville Barton and Château Langoa Barton.
Though very down-to-earth, this dynamic woman represents one of the few founding families that still own and manage their classified estates across generations.
Lilian and I discussed the tour UGCB château owners will make to Asia. I had glimpsed the schedule that would take them on a roadshow to present the new vintage, stopping in what seemed like every single major city.
The scheduled tour looked incredibly exhausting on paper. As a journalist, I’ve been on many programs where the daily schedule meant a 9 a.m. start, with the day of visits ending well after midnight.
Yet here are the château owners, presenting the wines themselves to collectors, journalists, and the Asian wine trade—instead of sending an export manager in their place.
In my experience, Bordeaux’s UGCB château owners are extremely hands-on, eagerly accepting the responsibilities that have been handed to them from previous generations or that they have orchestrated themselves.
The list of welcome, familiar faces of the château owners I greeted would exceed the word length of this article, but notably included Olivier Bernard—ever charismatic—present both as the owner of Domaine de Chevalier and in his role as president of Les Crus Classés de Graves.
I also said hello to several members of the Lurton family—a family name that threads through Bordeaux in multiple directions.
Then again I was able to greet Count Stephan von Neipperg, owner of Château Canon-La Gaffelière. I remember when I first met him around 2010 and how he impressed me with his elegant ascot and double-breasted blazer.
Then I was doubly impressed when I tasted the elegance and finesse of his wines. Each year since that visit, he’s sent me a delightful Christmas card with a picture of his family and handwritten signatures from them all.
These cards have become treasures I’ve saved and often regard as emblems of the evolution of Bordeaux: as a treasured wine region, and of the personal relationships I’ve built over time. At present, Count von Neipperg is focused on organic certification for his vineyards.
Underscoring the "Human Side" of En Primeur Week
Each of the UGCB château owners plays a key role in the success of En Primeur week. It’s not just about the vintage—because each vintage is different.
Each year presents the opportunity to reinforce the value of Bordeaux as a fine wine region—a “collectible wine” and even a financial asset… yet also a wine with a million stories behind it.
In each social interaction, I hear a new story, a new facet of the family’s history. Over the past nearly two decades, this has become a tapestry of experiences that has allowed me to understand the region in a way that transcends organized press events, interviews, and formal structured tastings.
En Primeur Bordeaux: More About the UGCB
More About the UGCB
Founded in 1973, the UGCB’s mission was to serve as a gateway from the region’s historic châteaux—classified since 1855—to the wine-consuming public and the trade.
It brings together more than 130 of Bordeaux’s top classified and equivalent-level estates from across the Left and Right Banks to promote the wines and the region’s core story.
It does so through global tastings, export events, and market education. But the most immersive lens is right here during En Primeur week. During this week, the wines are open, the producers are present, and the vintage is launched. Like the tone and format of this welcome evening.
To Conclude
This welcome night, though less public than the famous verticals and classification walk-arounds that follow, is where the tone is set. It’s the Union saying: “Let En Primeur Week begin.”
And tonight, it’s also the hosting Château Figeac opening their doors and generously showcasing both the cultural and the vinous history of Bordeaux at its finest.
