Bordeaux specialist: ‘No one who works in the wine industry denies global warming’

In my wine group, a member recently served a Mouton Rothschild 1986 – about 1000 francs expensive, 100 points at Weinpapst Parker, ready to drink until 2045. A member immediately said, “Over it!”. Can you understand anyone thinking that Bordeaux has peaked a century?
I can understand him perfectly – for several reasons. There are old wine drinkers and young wine drinkers: many wine lovers like clearly recognizable primary aromas such as raspberries, citrus or cherries. With a wine of 35 years old, the fruity aromas are in the background. These old wines were also made very differently from the current ones and the climate was different: they were lighter, often had no more than 12.5 percent alcohol. The second are tertiary aromas, i.e. ripe notes, including earthy and balsamic notes. Such flavors put many people off.

So the honesty of our member deserves respect. Shouldn’t you say about some wines: there is nothing to it!
Wine is and remains a subjective story, but on the other hand also an objective story: I attended the wine academy and received wine sensory training and see that a lot can be objectively judged. The length of the finish, the complexity and much more. But whether someone likes fresh fruity wines or prefers ripe notes is subjective.

How far can the subjective impression go? Shouldn’t wine lovers be at least a little more objective? Example: We recently had a Swiss white wine that cost over 200 francs, sometimes up to 400 francs. And we said: we would pay 40. Wrong judgment?
Still, this is a good example of how high demand and low supply can drive up prices. As a wine shop, we are not waiting for these price increases. Your example could be a Chardonnay from the Graubünden top producer Gantenbein. We sold the wine of the same vintage for 78 francs. This has nothing to do with speculation. This also applies in particular to wines from the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. These wines are internationally sought after. Virtually every price is paid.

A bottle of Romanée-Conti costs more than 1,000 francs, with some older vintages also costing 20,000 francs. Will I get a box from you next year if I order now?
Unfortunately not. The demand is much greater than the supply. That is why we must distribute the wines as fairly as possible. You can request the purchase, but even as a regular customer you usually get a rejection or a very small amount. So you can be one of the lucky Romanée Conti collectors in a few years.

And then I can sell the wine on the secondary market for a lot more money?
The wine belongs to the person who bought it. You can sell it, it’s not forbidden. However, if we find out that someone has speculated with the wine, we will no longer sell wine from this domain to this person.

What is the average price at Martel and most wine stores?
The average price in Switzerland is probably around 9 francs per bottle. Our wine shop handles most of the sales with wines in the range of 12 to 25 francs, to individuals and to the catering industry. Selling premium wines obviously raises the average.

Only a small percentage buys the wines above 100 francs?
Yes, we are talking about the top segment, about the highest wine culture – or about the wine Bentleys, if I may compare it that way. We are good in this area. The competence also radiates to the cheaper segment, which we also appreciate. We do the volume, to stay with the car picture, with high-quality vehicles such as Audi or Peugeot or a Volvo.

We have now talked about the price and the quality criteria. So where does quality start in Bordeaux wines?
I am convinced that there is no region in the world where you can get such good wines for so little money. In Bordeaux there are excellent wines from 15 francs. Quality starts where wine shows structure, balance and typicality. The better the wine, the clearer these factors are, the more complex a wine is – and the more it can touch you.

Martel offers a certain Bordeaux Château Thieuley, which costs 15.80 francs. And then there is the legendary Château Palmer, the 2022 for 365 francs in subscription, so pre-orderable. Is it possible to confuse these two wines?
That’s almost impossible – so… (thinks): No, anyone can find out. The wines have a different style. The Thieuley is uncomplicated and fruity, a playful wine for every day. The Palmer 2022 has a different character. This wine is precise, extremely complex and sensual. Freshness, fullness, complete harmony. Extremely long finish of more than a minute.

They offer about 150 Bordeaux wines on a subscription basis. As a “Tortel” buyer, can I go there and say: “2,000 bottles of Mouton Rothschild for me!”?
No, it’s not that easy. The trading center of Bordeaux has its own rules and is rather complicated in terms of organization, with a large trading platform and a historically developed system of intermediaries. We partially participate in this system, but the longer we import, the more direct.

And if you want a famous example like “Mouton Rothschild”, do you have to add some unknown wine from the intermediary, the negotiator?
We are very careful with that. But you’re right: I might not be able to buy a Mouton on my own, it’s give and take in this area. However, we do not compromise when it comes to the quality of second wines.

The Mouton Rothschild 2022 will cost you 643 francs. What or who is directing this award?
The whole world is crying out for these wines with big names like Rothschild, the demand is much greater than the supply. The internet offers good comparison possibilities. If you are too expensive, you will notice it quickly.

2022 should be a great vintage in Bordeaux, but 2022 was another extremely hot summer, almost like 2003. Isn’t that a contradiction?
Until 2003, when it was very warm for the first time for so very long, people thought: the higher the sugar content, the better. And in 2003, the sugar content went through the roof. They had no experience with such a vintage, so many wines did not come out well. You waited too long to harvest. The sugar content was high, but the tannins remained greenish and the wines did not taste ripe. Years later – 2018, 2019, 2020 – it was hot again. In the meantime, however, we have learned a lot about how to deal with extremely hot summers. The vines are better cared for and shaded, and the harvest is also earlier. This results in wines with very nice, ripe tannins and freshness, despite the heat and dryness.

Let’s call it a shovel: global warming.
No one who works in the wine industry will deny global warming. That is obvious. But precisely: today the winegrowers have a much better idea of ​​how to deal with the heat.

It’s half the winemaker, half nature. But could it also be that the grape is adapting to climate change?
There’s definitely something in it. I am in daily contact with winemakers from all over the world. Many of them are amazed at how well their vines can withstand the heat. This also applies to regions that were originally cooler, such as Germany, which suffered from heat and drought last year – and produced fresh and crystal clear Rieslings even under these conditions.

And the horror scenarios that it gets too hot for certain grapes?
That is by no means out of the question, Merlot, for example, tolerates much less extreme heat than, say, Cabernet Sauvignon. That is why more and more people in Bordeaux are starting to grow Malbec or the Portuguese variety Tourgia Nacional. A total of six grape varieties are allowed in addition to the classic Bordeaux grapes.

So Bordeaux wines have a problem if they rely on Merlot?
The trend is: yes, the Merlot vineyard area in Bordeaux is declining. But when it comes to wine, there are always several factors that come into play. The skills of the winegrowers and the terroir, the soil, are also decisive. My favorites for 2022 include the Merlot varieties that display a wonderful freshness.

Are traditional goods so mobile?
Absolute. It is also important to note that changes in viticulture are very slow. When I plant new vines, I have to wait at least ten years for the grapes to produce first-class quality. Probably even longer.

Switzerland is a Pinot Noir country and in Ticino we have Merlot. Then we soon have a problem.
We have less to worry about the Merlot: in Ticino it hardly ever gets more than 40 degrees as hot as in Bordeaux. There can be problems with Pinot Noir, the grape variety does not like it too hot. Some areas in Switzerland are among the global warming winners. Our stars from the Bündner Herrschaft lie between 500 and 650 meters above sea level, ideal because it is not always so hot and wonderfully cool at night.

The good Bordeaux is getting more and more expensive, but in the “Tages-Anzeiger” we read about “Bordeaux in distress”. What’s happening there?
We talk and talk here about the Grand Cru classes, the great wines that are expensive. But in Bordeaux there is much more wine, a total of 200,000 hectares, Switzerland only 15,000. About 30 years ago there was a huge boom, which came with the wine pope Parker, everyone wanted to drink Bordeaux. The small winegrowers also benefited from it, they grew vines and blew them up. And then at a certain point there was less demand for Bordeaux and there was a “pop!”. There is an oversupply of cheap Bordeaux. However, we are not active in this segment.

But are these good wines?
Cheap Bordeaux – I’m talking about wine of around two euros – and the Grand Cru Classe wines that we trade are two worlds in terms of quality. Mass Bordeaux is also a hard sell these days, even at rock bottom prices. At the same time, the demand for top wine from Bordeaux is increasing. It is still possible to discover castles in Bordeaux that produce very good wine at reasonable prices. Bordeaux for 500 francs: well and good. But there are also great wines from 10 to 15 francs. We are looking for these.