The St Julien Paradox

The term French Paradox was first coined in 1980 by a group of French scientists, who noted that despite eating plenty of duck, foie gras and cassoulet, the French had relatively low levels of heart disease compared to other countries. The idea was famously taken up by Chinese premier Li Peng in 1996, kickstarting China’s love affair with Bordeaux. But right back in 1934 the Médoc was already well aware of the apparent link between red wine and long life – and in this case long marriage.

On June 16 1934, a Fete de la Longévité was held in St Julien to honour couples from the Médoc who had been married for more than 50 years, long enough to celebrate their Golden Wedding anniversary.  A survey had been carried out across the Médoc, and found 407 couples who had been married for between 50 and 69 years (the longest they could find at the time), with 17 couples who lived right in St Julien itself.

The French president at the time, Albert Lebrun, even came along to celebrate the fact that this corner of France had higher than average numbers of long-living residents, and at the time put it down to the amount of red wine consumed in the Médoc. The Mayor of St Julien, Desirée Cordier of Château Talbot and Château Gruaud Larose, presided over the ceremony – and to convince his fellow mayors across the Médoc, wrote to them saying,  ‘I am sure you will fully understand the importance of this ceremony… for the Médoc wine region… and the unprecedented honour that it accords our region’.

A toast to the couples was given with an 1834 St Julien wine (we can assume this was Gruaud Larose 1834, as the estate is famous for its particularly impressive cellars, although the exact identity isn’t recorded).

The idea had been worked on by Désiré Cordier for more than a year – looking for a way out of the financial crisis that crippling the wine world in the 1930s. One journalist in the local paper La Petite Gironde commented the impact it must have had on the visiting dignitaries: ‘The presidential cortège may have been surprised to find that large parts of his route were lined with vast empty fields that were once planted with rows of perfectly-cared-for vines, producing one of the greatest wines of the world. He might now understand the great misery in our vineyards, and hear the cry of a land that is dying under a never-ending array of crises’. 

To read more, head to the St Julien-Beychevelle website (in French).