I’ve wanted to cover this topic for a while, and with the focus on the top Bordeaux wines in Hong Kong this week for the 2009 Vintage, and a nice article by wine writer Mr. Oliver Styles, this is the right launch point. 

I met Oliver last year during VinExpo, where we shared a table at Chateau Kirwan (that’s him on the right, glasses in profile, sorry I can’t do better!)  Last June he was in his last week at Decanter.com, running the internet site in the UK.  Now he’s on his own, at Wine-Life.co.uk.  He continues as a writer and also makes wine in Spain.  You have to admire the effort, for sure.  Anyway, I wanted to recognize his blog here. He provides running commentary on the news in the business, and follows many of the wine discussion boards.  I have commented on a few of his stories, and now I think I will put out a running dialogue with him, because I enjoy his perspective. 

We also have a standing bet on the World Cup.  June 12, 2010 features the UK vs USA.  I forget our stakes, I think it must involve South African wines... he will no doubt remind me of our commitment!

Last month, Oliver wrote a piece on his blog called, Why Great Wines Don’t Enter Wine Competitions.  Since he worked for Decanter, a mag that proffers a great number of “best wine” medallions and awards, his perspective is valuable.  He puts the nut of the decision by great wine makers even entering such competitions thusly:

1. “there is a chance that the tasters might have a bad day; that the wine might not travel well; that the tasters won’t appreciate the nuances of the wine, etc. It is well understood that great wines can only lose by entering such competitions...  it is a sobering thought that the refusal of the top wines to enter wine competitions illustrates just how slight a margin there is between the great and the good. Often, that margin is as thick as their label.”
   

For the world’s elite wine brands, Wine is not a competitive sport.  It’s a blood sport.

For the elite wines of the world, here are the keys to victory:

1. 1.Never fight on a battle field where you can lose.  Oliver’s basic premise.  You don’t enter competitions, you don’t send your bottles out unaccompanied, for tastings.  You don’t move down a weight class.  And you don’t do blind comparisons.  Period. 
   

2. 2.Play on your home court. Put your history, your winery, your vineyards, and the glory of your investment to work so that you’re already winning before the wine is ever poured.
   

3. 3.Innovate or die.  Make no mistake, what’s in the bottle had better be the best it can possibly be, year in and year out. When you are commanding prices in the $100 to $1,000 range, there is no such thing as an off vintage.  That’s why Cos d’Estournel reinvented itself over 10 years, culminating in arguably the biggest, and most visible, of all Bordeaux wines in 2009. 
   

4. 4.Less is More.  Yes, rather than greater market share through volume, the opposite rule applies.  Cut production, increase price and drive the market based on scarcity and distribution.  In wine, this generally has the positive effect of improving quality of the great wine, and producing a second-rank wine that can serve as the entry to the brand, or ensure distribution loyalty. 
   

5. 5.All the World’s a Stage. Especially China.  When you can’t bring them to your chateaux, go see the millionaires of the world on their home turf.  Follow the money and make sure you are on the ground.  Hong Kong is the new wine capital of the world, driven by their zero-tax policy a few years ago.  Here, the biggest wine collections are auctioned to the highest bidder, Bordeaux executes the entire VinExpo show.  And the First Growths won’t price their wines until they’ve been tasted in Hong Kong! 
   

6. 6.When in doubt, raise your price. Finally, don’t make it easier for more people to come to your brand.  You aren’t in the business of “gaining trial and acceptance”.  You are striving for Coveted. The trophy to be earned, displayed. A wine found only on the elite wine lists of the world.  You bring prestige to the restaurant, and to the table.  Better yet, stay off the published lists, but on the comp list of the Handlers in Vegas and Macau. 
   

With these rules, who has time for blind taste tests and gold medal magazine awards?

Finally, as a wine lover and a modest collector, I say this:  seeking, buying, and holding a few spectacular bottles to one day find the right moment to serve them is a very gratifying experience. No, not just for what they are intrinsically, as Oliver has proven in his note. But rather, for the possibility they embody — a perfect pairing, a wedding toast, a special anniversary, the opportunity to get a special meeting or close a business deal, or the simple honor you give to those you share the bottle with. This is part of what drives Lafite sales in China.  It shows your own power that you can offer it, and it shows the respect you have for those you think highly enough of to share it. 

And if it’s not as good this year as Lynch Bages? Or if it disappoints? Or you fail to prepare it fully, or open it too soon, or too late, or your glass smells of cardboard because you failed to use the micro-cloth instead of the paper towel this once? Well, that’s life!  Anticipation is a very fulfilling emotion for an optimistic future. And we all know that in life, as in wine, reality doesn’t always square with the build-up.  Thus, we can’t be surprised that labels and brands matter, and that people pay for them even if they can be proven inferior to cheaper substitutes.  

Oliver, when it comes time for you to give your daughter away to her betrothed, I will be shocked if you are raising your glass toasting the good fortune of the new family with a champagne that requires you to say, “Yes but in blind tasting these gold medallions say it’s as good as Krug”.

You probably have The Collection vintage already picked out for the happy occasion.  And that’s entirely appropriate.  Cheers!  Miguel