News Digest: April 2024

by Valeria Tenison

April saw not only 5,300 professionals coming to Bordeaux for the En Primeur week but also a bud break across the Bordeaux vineyards. However, the risk of night frost remained a concern, with many properties proactively installing fans and heating machines to protect their budding vines from the chilly temperatures. This risk generally continues until mid-May, although it decreases once April has passed.

This comes at a time when global wine consumption has reached its lowest point since 1961, according to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), with just 214 million hectolitres consumed in 2024. France is partially responsible for this structural decline. Over the past 50 years, the country’s wine consumption has halved.

In 2023, France consumed 24 million hectolitres — just over 10% of the global total — despite remaining the world’s second-largest consumer. Today, the average French person drinks less than one bottle per week, and nearly one in four adults in France no longer drinks wine at all, favouring beer and spirits instead. This drop reflects deeper shifts in lifestyle and generational habits. Wine is no longer a daily presence at the table, now mostly reserved for weekends and special occasions. This no doubt partly explains why figures released a few weeks ago saw 265 injunctions ordered by the judicial courts of Bordeaux and Libourne following non-payments of goods or services by wine estates over the first quarter of 2024. This is a rise of 13% on the year before – and is often the first step on the road to declaring bankruptcy. The figures spark concern not only for the estates themselves, but for the suppliers, and négociants who work with them.

Against this backdrop, the 2024 Bordeaux vintage, unveiled during the En Primeur Week, has sparked cautious optimism despite a difficult growing season marked by rain and disease pressure. The event showcased the resilience and technical expertise of the winemakers, who relied on meticulous grape selection and modern tools to produce quality wines. Commercially, a limited harvest and expected lower release prices could revive interest in En primeur purchases – if the châteaux judge the market correctly. The first releases have seen Branaire-Ducru at a 20% discount on 2023 prices, and Lafite Rothschild at €288, the same price that its 2014 was released at – whether these are enough to tempt buyers remains to be seen.

However, some estates are challenging the traditional system. In a letter dated March 31, 2025, Château La Tour Figeac announced it will not release its 2024 vintage En Primeur. Citing the challenging global wine market and pricing pressures, the estate emphasised its decision was made to protect the value of its brand. Due to current economic conditions, the team believes the market cannot fairly reflect the quality of the 2024 vintage. As a result, the wine will not be presented to the trade or press until after bottling.

Further complicating the situation, a new 20% U.S. tariff on French wines, set to take effect on April 9 but then postponed for 90 days, is causing deep concern in Bordeaux. Allan Sichel, president of the Bordeaux Wine Council (CIVB), warns that the measure will impact all Bordeaux wines, not just luxury labels. The U.S. is Bordeaux’s top export market, with 30 million bottles sold in 2024 worth €410 million. This new tariff, echoing similar ones imposed under Donald Trump’s previous administration, risks repeating the damage seen during the 2019–2021 period, when a 25% tariff led to a 30% drop in U.S. sales.

Resonating with current industry concerns over U.S. tariffs, Château Haut-Brion, in a recent Instagram post, offered a glimpse into its library with a historical letter penned by President Thomas Jefferson, a known admirer of French wines, particularly Bordeaux. The post features a powerful quote from an 1818 letter Jefferson wrote to Baron Hyde de Neuville, where he argues against high wine taxes, stating: “It is an error to view a tax on that liquor as merely a tax on the rich. It is a prohibition of its use to the midling class of our citizens…”

On April 10, the city of Bordeaux will kick off “Bordeaux se met au verre”, a new promotional initiative aimed at boosting wine-by-the-glass sales in local restaurants and bars. The goal: offer accessible Bordeaux wines starting at €5 per glass, particularly for entry-level selections, while also encouraging more establishments to feature local wines on their by-the-glass lists. The city government, the CIVB, the Bordeaux Tourism Office, and hospitality professionals support the initiative. It comes in response to changing consumption habits, as bottle sales at tables decline in favour of wine by the glass—especially outdoors and during meals. The campaign will involve around 100 venues, each offering at least three wines by the glass, including one organic option and one priced at €5. Most of these wines will be served in bag-in-box formats to preserve freshness and manage costs. On a more ambitious scale, Coravin has announced its own World Wine Tour, concentrating on wines by the glass in partner venues from May 1-31, 2025, including six in Paris. Bordeaux wines on the list include Château Pontet-Canet 2005  and Château d’Yquem 2021.

In a move to boost the visibility and appeal of Graves wines, a new regulation, published on March 6, 2025, states that, starting in 2026, all Graves wines must carry the collective identifier “Graves grand vin de Bordeaux” on their labels. This will apply across all wine types – red, white, and sweet – unifying the branding under one name. Perhaps the most significant change is eliminating the “Graves Supérieures” designation. From 2028, wines with residual sugar can still be labelled as “Graves Supérieures” but will no longer be recognised as a separate appellation. The move comes after years of declining production for the “Graves Supérieures” category (from 20,000 to 4,000 hectoliters in 20 years).

In social media news, the data recently published by Wine Services reveals a dynamic social media landscape among Bordeaux wineries. This analysis, part of the Observatoire des Domaines Bordelais, looked at the activity of 51 Bordeaux estates across Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. While Château d’Yquem (in main photo above) leads in total followers across platforms with 139K, it’s outperformed in overall metrics by estates Château Angelus and Château Margaux. The analysis highlights Instagram and Facebook as dominant platforms, though LinkedIn and X (Twitter) show growing relevance for professional audiences.

Innovation extends beyond the usual scope. In response to the ongoing vineyard uprooting linked to the wine sector crisis, Libourne’s mayor, Philippe Buisson, has proposed creatively reusing vine trunks: biofuel to heat the La Calinésie aquatic centre. The facility is already partially heated by a wood biomass boiler. Buisson has commissioned a feasibility study to assess whether the uprooted vines — especially those from Gironde and Libournais — could be treated, cleaned, and ground for fuel.

During Bordeaux’s En Primeur Week, Château Smith Haut Lafitte in Martillac unveiled a new visitor centre named Gaïa. Nestled in the woods opposite the château, this elegant new space complements the existing “stealth cellar” for crafting the estate’s second wines (Petit Smith Haut Lafitte and Les Hauts de Smith).

On April 15, the Cité du Vin hosted its first-ever Jazz & Wine concert, featuring double bassist Riccardo del Fra in a moving tribute to Chet Baker. The intimate setting and superb acoustics of the Thomas Jefferson Auditorium created a club-like atmosphere. Del Fra, who played with Baker during the last nine years of his life, included classic ballads like Just Friends and Not for Me, alongside energetic pieces such as Funk in a Deep Freeze and Beatrice. Jazz & Wine programmer Jean-Jacques Quesada hopes to make the Cité a regular stage for future events — with the next concert tentatively set for July 2, featuring drummer Nasheet Waits and guitarist Marc Ducret.

Finally, huge cheers to the incredibly talented winners of the Château Rauzan-Ségla Curious Vines Bordeaux Education Award 2025. Leona De Pasquale, Beatrice Bessi, Zofia Dalkowska, Dr Ying Fan and Effi Tsournava form an inspiring group of women that will participate in a two-day immersive trip to Bordeaux, including visits to Châteaux Berliquet, Canon, and Rauzan-Ségla. The programme will feature technical tours, tastings, masterclasses, and discussions with local wine professionals. One awardee will also receive a place in the Wine Scholar Guild’s Bordeaux Masters programme and attend the Bordeaux Index 10 Years On Tasting.

Sources: Sud Ouest, Vitisphere, Wine Services, OIV