Bad News for Bordeaux

Only bad news seems to be sweeping the Bordeaux region of France lately. The global crisis is even affecting the world’s most expensive and prestigious wine. Just last week the wire service Agence France-Presse carried a story saying Diago Chateau & Estates, who have distributed Bordeaux wines since 1974, would be abandoning the sale of the red wine immediately.

The company first assisted the red Bordeaux wine district with its distribution when Bordeaux houses were suffering from terrible sales and low prices. Chairman Ab Simon has greatly contributed to the name and prestige of these fine wines by keeping the prices reasonable with well executed negotiations when price increases threatened to the entire system.

The repercussions of possible price declines in many sectors will deeply be felt by retailers and wholesalers in the area and could even potentially harm the financial infrastructure of Bordeaux itself. The Napa Valley Register says they’re selling off their inventory of a total that could be in the $200 million range.

A former executive with the company who worked there when it was still owned by Joseph Seagram and Sons told them, ““C&E is dumping a lot of its inventory “They have millions of dollars worth of Bordeaux of various vintages and they are liquidating everything.”

Lower prices might initially spark consumer interest, but in the long run all this will do is taint the prestige of fine Bordeaux wines. Wine dealers who have been stockpiling vintages of Bordeaux as an investment stand to lose the most out of this ordeal. But hopefully the recent surge of increased Asian interest in the fine red wine is a glimmer of hope.

Via: Napa Valley Register