Primeurs 2015: a great Ban du Millésime
At the Ban du Millésime dinner on Wednesday, 6 April 2016 at the Palais de la Bourse in Bordeaux, the Commanderie du Bontemps played host to nearly 600 guests. Besides the Bordeaux merchants there that evening to celebrate the 2015 vintage, were great wine lovers, journalists from the national and international press, and buyers from the world over.
Photographs: © Philippe Labeguerie
Initiated by and for the wine-selling members of the Confrérie and organised in conjunction with the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux, the Ban du Millésime is a gathering of the greatest Bordeaux wine merchants, who invite their clients and friends for the evening. Several estates get together with them to present the new vintage to the national and international press during a dinner that was held this year for the first time in the Palais de la Bourse.
It was a full house for the release of the 2015 vintage. “Some of the buyers present had not attended since 2009-2010”, explained the Grand Maître, Emmanuel Cruse. Before a captivated audience, Emmanuel Cruse presented “a great vintage, with tremendous purity and perfect elegance”. So, despite a difficult economic climate, Bordeaux has reasserted its leadership. Francis Boutemy, president of the Grand Cercle Rive Gauche, confirmed the interest in the 2015 vintage. “The Asian and American importers are here and showing their satisfaction”.
Emmanuel Cruse, Grand Master of the Commanderie du Bontemps
“The best vintage for a long time”
Everybody was impressed with the 2015 vintage. But today, everyone wanted to form their own opinion, to confer with the château owners and the negociants. So, for Dany Pocho, who had come from neighbouring Switzerland, “There are some stunning masterpieces. This is a vintage with natural richness… You’d have to be a great winemaker to make the vintage both harmonious and balanced. That is the key.” For Dai Sheng, who had come from Wuhan in China, “Fantastic, this is the best vintage for a long time!”
Guests arriving for the Ban du Millésime dinner in the Place de la Bourse, Bordeaux
The Commanderie du Bontemps de Médoc et des Graves, de Sauternes et de Barsac
The Commanderie du Bontemps is a winemakers’ brotherhood. And not just any old one! With its 315 members, it is one of the oldest and most important in France, celebrating wine, and perpetuating everything connected with wine, its values and its spirit, with friendship, geniality and fidelity to the terroir. As a matter of interest, before becoming the emblem of the Commanderie, the “Bontemps” was a recipient used by the cellar master for beating the eggs used for fining and clarifying the wine.
Read on: Lynch-Bages in light of the Primeurs
- "Best of the best from the first tastings of 2015 Bordeaux wines in the barrel" - South China Morning Post
- "The 2015 Bordeaux Barrels Diary: A Smooth Operation at Lynch Bages" - Wine Spectator