“Bordeaux has never produced such fine wines” François-Xavier Maroteaux, President of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux

Hello François-Xavier. As is the case every year, the UGCB attended Wine Paris. What was your overall impression of this year’s event?

Wine Paris has become the world’s leading wine trade show. That’s why it is such an important event for us. This year, we welcomed 3,300 visitors to our stand, many of whom were distributors from over 90 countries. For the first time during the trade show, we presented two Vintages. We chose to showcase the 2023, which is the latest to be bottled, as well as the 2019, to highlight how our wines develop in the space of a few years. The 2019 Vintage, which is just over six years old, is already a pleasure to drink, demonstrating how our wines can be enjoyed relatively young. It was a real success: many industry professionals tasted the two Vintages and were very satisfied to be able to compare and observe the changes, especially since the 2019 and 2023 have relatively similar profiles. Overall, our wines received a very warm welcome and the negociants reported constructive meetings, suggesting positive developments in the future.

Prior to Wine Paris, the UGCB went on its US tour. How did it unfold? Did you also notice a new impetus during these events?

During the US tour, we only presented the 2023 Vintage. It received a very warm welcome. Distributors and consumers alike thought it was a wonderful vintage with a lovely structure, in line with American consumer tastes. In the US, there is a clear, renewed interest in Bordeaux wines! In several cities we hadn’t seen such a high turnout for over a decade, both at professional and public tastings. Of course everything is not all rosy. Problems concerning tariffs persist, alongside exchange rates, which will remain a sensitive issue if they continue to deteriorate. However, we have witnessed real interest in our Grands Crus from American stakeholders and we will continue to pursue our efforts to boost such enthusiasm.

The overall context isn’t easy, yet you seem fairly optimistic.

Definitely, because we are witnessing a comeback for Bordeaux wine. Industry professionals and consumers are becoming aware of how our wines have changed over the past decade, especially for the latest Vintages. These are attractive wines in keeping with the times. We are not saying that everything’s perfect – far from it! But we are noticing encouraging signs and the beginning of a positive trend. This warms our hearts!

Can you tell us a bit more about 2026 En Primeurs week? Do you sense a particular enthusiasm for this event?

En Primeurs week remains a key moment for international stakeholders and a Bordeaux feature which we are really fond of. Bordeaux benefits from unique exposure during this event. This year, there is even more interest than usual since 2025 is undoubtedly a great vintage. It is sure to meet consumer expectations in terms of style. However, volumes are fairly limited, which, in the current context, is not necessarily a bad thing. Prices will be very reasonable given the quality of the Vintage. All of this is encouraging distributors to come and discover it. The UGCB is going the extra mile to ensure that industry professionals can taste the wines in the best possible conditions.

What is on the agenda this year?

For appellation tastings taking place from Tuesday 21 to Thursday 23 April:

- Château Lynch-Bages will present the Grands Crus of Saint-Estèphe, Pauillac, Médoc and Northern Haut-Médoc,

- Château Léoville Barton, which is celebrating its 200th anniversary, will host the Saint-Julien, Moulis and Listrac Estates,

- Château Cantemerle will present the Grands Crus of Margaux and Southern Haut-Médoc,

- Domaine de Chevalier will host the Estates from the Graves and Pessac-Léognan appellations alongside the sweet white wines of Sauternes & Barsac,

- As for the Right Bank, Château Valandraud will showcase the Grands Crus of Saint-Emilion while Château Beauregard will present the Pomerol Estates.

Before these collective tastings, we will have the honour of hosting the inauguration evening at Château Branaire-Ducru on Monday 20 April. Here, industry professionals will also have the chance to taste a selection of Vintages from 2017 through to 2023 (depending on the choices made by each Château). The aim is to give distributors the opportunity to taste not only the latest Vintage to be bottled but also Vintages available for purchase.

We are noticing that the Bordeaux Grands Crus are increasingly enjoyable young, do you have a message for fans?

Our wines continue to retain their good ageing potential, without any doubt. But today, they can also be enjoyed young. This does not mean that the wines will age less well than before. On the contrary! What it means is that consumers now have the choice between waiting and enjoying them now. The fact that Grands Crus are now enjoyable young can be explained by several factors. From 2015 onwards, many estates undertook major efforts to produce wines that were enjoyable young. Practices have changed, with a shift towards gentler extraction, less over-ripening and controlled use of barrels. We have never invested so much in the vineyards and in winemaking equipment in a bid to produce the best wine possible. Such investments, which began around a decade ago, were undoubtedly not communicated well enough. It is now essential to promote the efforts made, because to tell you the truth, Bordeaux has never been so good!

In light of this, the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux recently launched a “Grands Crus Sans Détour” tour around France to present “young” Vintages to professionals in the hospitality industry. These events have been a resounding success and help us to forge close ties with opinion leaders.

- Bordeaux: 8 December 2025

- Lyon: 23 March 2026

- Nantes: 1 June 2026

- Paris: 7 September 2026