Grands Crus already on the campaign trail for a high-risk 2024 En Primeur season

fter another disappointing En Primeur campaign for the 2023 vintage, Bordeaux’s Grands Crus are rallying round to publicise the quality of the 2024 vintage. As the year comes to an end, the Conseil des Grands Crus Classés en 1855 has for the first time released an early briefing note describing the “first impressions of the 2024 vintage”. It has sought input from six leading winemaking consultants and launched a YouTube channel to give voice to opinions on the new vintage.

The change in strategy is designed to handle communications at source in order to work on the vintage over the long term and expand upon the annual background note written by the chairman of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB), Ronan Laborde, in October.

The latest qualitative research by the Wine Lister agency (Figaro group) shows that only 5% of these influential companies view communication about the quality of the vintage as a strategy that makes En Primeur 2024 week essential. Wine Lister’s research even suggests that the marketing copy be fully reviewed, starting with a reduction in the number of labels. Currently totalling around 300 wines, the market should be drastically reduced, says the research, in order to avoid the mass effect which fuels disinterest. “Limit releases to just 50 icons and aspirational brands”, recommends a specialist in the Middle East.

The UGCB, however, considers the current model to be sound, with the number of labels released set to diminish naturally. “There continues to be trust in labels which offer desirability”, claims the organisation’s chairman.