Bordeaux fête la Chine Dans le cadre des échanges culturels sino-français
Mes chers amis, Dear Friends,
Bordeaux,
– This old roman city,
– This royal gift of Eleonor d’Aquitaine to the King of England Henry Plantagenêt at the 12th century,
Bordeaux,
– This jewel of the 18th century’s architecture with its charming opera house, the lovely façades along the river, the Rohan Palace –palace of the Bishop-,
Bordeaux,
– For centuries leader in the world for the greatest wines,
Bordeaux is happy tonight to welcome you as our very special guests, aware of your culture and of the long history of this part of the world you live in, the Far East.
Knowing your interest and your love for great wines, the members of the Académie du Vin de Bordeaux wished to share with you not only the love for our wines but also our homes and our culture.
Thank you for having accepted our invitation, and we do hope that you will enjoy your stay.
On November 27, 2005,
Michel-Pierre MASSONIE, Grand Maître and President of the Grand Conseil du Vin de Bordeaux, travelled to Shanghai with many members of the Commanderie to create the first Commanderie in China. This was a great event.
I would like Mr. Pierre-Michel MASSONIE to stand so that we can thank him.
But, a first step, as you know, is always difficult and it is thanks to the precious help of Vincent CHEUNG, Maître of the Hong Kong Commanderie for many many years, that all the organization was put together for this dream to come true.
Please Vincent, would you stand so that we thank you.
Then, this new Commanderie of Shanghai needed a knowledgeable Maître, and who could he be?
His name is Andrew BIGBEE, he is with us tonight and we would like to thank him also for taking over this new responsibility.
Dr. NK YONG from Singapore who, I am sorry to say, could not join us today, and Vincent Cheung have both helped the Académie to set up this trip to Bordeaux.
My thanks also go to President Laurent COURBU of the Chamber of Commerce, represented today by its vice-President Mr. Bruno LACOSTE who let us host this party in these beautiful rooms of this 18th century building.
And of course, I also wish to thank the members of the Académie who gracefully opened their châteaux and homes to our guests:
Château du Tertre Château Branaire-Ducru Château Kirwan
Château d’Issan Château Larcis-Ducasse Château Figeac
Château Gazin Château Malartic-Lagravière Château Haut-Bailly Château Smith Haut Lafitte Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
Bordeaux, during the Roman empire, 2 000 years ago, was known as Burdigala. It already was an important city thanks to its ideal position on the river La Garonne and on the estuary La Gironde.
Bordeaux, being a port, used to drain all the goods from the centre of France and already some of our wines, controlling the markets to England, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Bordeaux also enjoyed a strategic location on the road to Spain.
This lively and rich city has always been open-minded, with famous universities, famous writers and philosophers.
The poet and philosopher Ausone gave his name to one of the greatest vineyards in Saint Emilion, Château Ausone.
This city, of course, was open to foreigners:
English, Irish, German, Danish families came to settle in Bordeaux as merchants. Their influence has been great in the history of Bordeaux which inherited from them its strong intellectual richness.
And how could we speak about Bordeaux’ intellectual inheritance without mentioning for the 16th century MICHEL DE MONTAIGNE, renowned philosopher who was also mayor of Bordeaux?
The 17th century has been essential for the story of Bordeaux’ vineyards. The Christian monks and the Dutch drained the peninsula of the Médoc and the first vines appeared in the lovely terroirs of Margaux, Saint Julien, Pauillac and Saint Estèphe.
– In the 18th century, one of the greatest figures was Montesquieu, one of the leaders of Le Siècle des Lumières. Montesquieu was President of the Parliament of Bordeaux but also an eminent philosopher and writer. He was aware that if modern history wanted to avoid a drastic revolution, a new philosophy with respect of the human rights was to be established.
Bordeaux has always been a friendly city producing wine, and wine being the symbol of culture and of friendship,
Each vintage being different, each area Pomerol, Saint Emilion, the Graves, the Médoc having its own personality because of the different soils, subsoils and microclimates.
One of the specificities of Bordeaux wines is this very complex blend of different vine varieties, each château having its own blend and its own tradition. Bordeaux has always been a leader in the mastering of blends.
Each vintage is a new born baby created with love, like a piece of art that we can discuss and share together again and again.
My last words are from one of our Préfets of Bordeaux, G Delaunay, who left us this message:
« Il y a une civilisation du vin, celle où les hommes veulent se connaître afin de ne pas se combattre. »
« There is a civilization of wine, a civilization where Men want to know each other in order not to fight. »
Thank you for your visit. A votre santé.
Discours de Monsieur Jean-Guillaume Prats
Membre du Conseil de l’Académie du Vin de Bordeaux
The great wines of Bordeaux have this extraordinary ability to reinforce bridges between nation, people and cultures. Like the two sides of the Garonne and Dordogne rivers are know as the left and right banks of Bordeaux. Your various parts of the world are known as the left and right cost of the Chinese sea. We have in common to have bridges between us. These bridges being nothing more than our common passion for fine great Bordeaux.
The Far East is rather new in its love for fine claret. But, you have the immemorial respect for tradition, history and the management of time. Bordeaux has the extraordinary advantage to the new world to have experienced many mistakes and to have the knowledge of what should not be done. Eventually, I am still not sure that we know what should be done actually. Your ancient civilizations and deep respect for the past help you to understand this Bordeaux asset.
The great wines of Bordeaux are what they are today as numerous generations of travellers, investors, proprietors, wine growers, philosophers and even politicians have put their soul and full energy in reaching this elegance and high quality. And some time they have lost all their money….
The Chinese culture is all about balance and harmony. No one better than you all can therefore understand Bordeaux and support it for the next generations.
You will be tasting tonight some of the greatest vintage of Bordeaux in recent years. As you know, we either produce every year the vintage of the century or the vintage of the millennium. It seems, tonight, that Olivier Bernard made sure that we should not have any frustration.
Most of these wines are made with a philosophy far different from the one used to produce the last great 2005 vintage. The yield, the risk taking in the vineyard management, the search for details in the winemaking and ageing of the wine were very different in those years from what they are today. We should ask ourselves if we are accurate in being as excessive toward quality as we presently are. As wine lovers you may be able to give us an answer. None of the great Bordeaux philosophers Montesquieu, Montaigne and others have come up with the perfect advice.
No doubt that these wines will convince you to carry back to China, to Singapore, to Indonesia, to Taiwan and to HK the love for Bordeaux. Some 250 years ago the first barrels of Claret, where departing from these docks for foreign markets under the guidance of the Chamber of Commerce. The Pomerol, the Saint Emilion, the Médoc, the Graves, the Sauternes and Barsac of tonight are the perfect testimony of these travels. You have come to celebrate them and to pay respect to their long standing tradition. On behalf of the Academie du Vin de Bordeaux may I express our gratitude.
Olivier Bernard, membre du Conseil de l’Académie du Vin de Bordeaux
BUFFET DE VINS SERVIS AU COURS DU DÎNER
« La Cave de l’Académie »
En magnums et doubles magnums
~GRAVES~
Château Malartic-Lagravière 1990
Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte 1990
Château Latour-Martillac 1983
Château Haut-Bailly 1982
Château de Fieuzal 1975
Domaine de Chevalier 1966
~MEDOC~
Château d’Issan 1990
Château Beychevelle 1988
Château Talbot 1990
Château Léoville Barton 1986
Château Cos d’Estournel 1989
Château Lynch-Bages 1985
Château Giscours 1989
Château Rauzan-Ségla 1983
Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 1989
Château Siran 1982
Château Kirwan 1981
Château du Tertre 1989
Château Brane-Cantenac 1978
Château Branaire-Ducru 1975
~POMEROL~
Château Gazin 1990
Château Petit-Village 1990
~SAINT-EMILION~
Château Clos Fourtet 1990
Château Cadet-Bon 1989
Château Cap de Mourlin 1988
Château La Dominique 1983
Château Figeac 1983
Château Larcis-Ducasse 1979
Château Canon 1964
~SAUTERNES – BARSAC~
Château d’Arche 1990
Château Guiraud 1990
Château La Tour Blanche 1990
Château Suduiraut 1989
Château Doisy-Védrines 1988
Château de Fargues 1983
Château Nairac 1983
MENU
Champagne Roederer Brut Premier en magnums
accompagné d’Amuse-Bouches
Esturgeon Rôti et Poireaux Bordelaise
Gigot d’Agneau dit de Sept Heures, Gratin des Capucins
Fromages Affinés
Charlotte Meringuée aux Agrumes
Café – Petits Fours
Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie de Bordeaux – Palais de la Bourse
Vendredi 13 janvier 2006