Editorial
Bordeaux and its necessary embodiment!
If I had to pick one theme from this already sixth Lettre Féret, I think that once again it would concern the disaffection with Bordeaux wine, which, however, I explained right here was plural and diverse. A subject that resurfaced on reading an interesting text by Xavier Planty, published in the indispensable Vitisphère, which firmly sets the scene that should allow us to get out of the rut by stating: “The winegrower, his vine and his wine are the first pillar of this imaginary. It can be small or large, but embodiment is fundamental.” A lack of embodiment put forward many times, which Jean-Marie Guffens reproaches “us” with again in a brutal but judicious aside, in response to the text by the unmissable Bernard Sirot, read in the Échos de Bordeaux, rebelling against the hackneyed and worn-out image of smooth, soulless crus. Light years from these fundamentals evoked by Xavier Planty. A reflection that will echo the interview with Lenaïc Levelle, founder of La CUV, to be found in Industry Voices.
The Bordeaux native also looks back for us on the necessary proselytising attitude of the Bordeaux wine merchant, at the risk otherwise of feeding the imaginary of expensive and old-fashioned wines. A rehabilitation fight also waged by the new Graves winegrower Delphine Journel, who tells in our interview of the difficulties of selling wines stamped Bordeaux and who looks back enthusiastically on the need to shake up the industry and the institutions in order to let people see and taste other Bordeaux, in tune with the market. Solutions exist, we know, between gentle extraction, delicate ageing and a rethought approach to plant material. Moreover, this Letter, in collaboration with Inno’vin and Échos de Bordeaux by Agence Fleurie, once again speaks of innovative initiatives and practices, through the experiences of Tutiac or the days devoted to the effects of climate, soil type and cultivation practices on wine terroirs and wine production.
In this uncertain and turbulent period, it seemed important to us to put the unmissable Bordeaux et ses Vins back on the loom. The 20th edition of the great guide will appear in spring 2026. It seems to us more than necessary to give new life to the incomparable tool for promoting the Bordeaux region, to recall the place of this 2,000-year-old vineyard. Subscription link and conditions for your presence in the next guide, below: https://bordeaux.feret.com/fr/figurer-dans-bordeaux-et-ses-vins
“It is not the years in your life that count, but the life in your years.” A Lincolnian adage for sincere wishes and to begin this year 2025 in the finest way!
Faithfully yours.
Henry Clemens
Publications Director
