Thanks to the determination of its president and founder, Alain Raynaud, the Grand Cercle des Vins de Bordeaux came into existence in June 2013
to unite within one entity wines of the Right and Left Banks.
At present, it brings together a large number of wine estates: 113 for the Cercle Rive Droite and 51 for the Cercle Rive Gauche. With the diversity and complementarity of appellations,
terroirs and wine professionals and with almost 160 wines, the Grand Cercle presents a showcase of Bordeaux’s fine wines selected for their great quality.
The Grand Cercle properties all share the following :
A common geographical location, Bordeaux, namely the right bank and the left bank of the Gironde River.
For the right bank, the estates are situated in the following appellations: Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieur, Entre-Deux-Mers, Sainte-Foy Bordeaux, Cadillac Côtes de Bordeaux, Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux, Côtes de Bourg, Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux, Francs Côtes de Bordeaux, Pomerol, Lalande de Pomerol, Fronsac, Canon Fronsac, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, Montagne Saint-Emilion, Lussac Saint-Emilion,
For the left bank, the estates are situated in the following appellations :
Médoc, Saint-Estèphe, Pauillac, Saint-Julien, Listrac, Margaux, Haut-Médoc, Graves, Pessac-Léognan, Sauternes.
A common fundamental focus on quality and expressing the individual personality of their wines.
Common ethical practices with regard to production and the way the wines are taken to market.
The Grand Cercle wines are united by a code of practice with obligations in the following domains :
A continuous quest for innovation : analysis of cross sections of the different land types, study of the water drainage and retention characteristics of the plots, disease control with the least possible recourse to chemical products ;
Control of yields : pruning, bud and sucker removal, etc. The use of a multitude of techniques to achieve optimally ripe grapes in clean, disease-free condition ;
Vineyard protection, rational use of pesticides : taking into account the whole ecosystem and protecting it, ensuring the sustained survival of organic balances ;
Care when harvesting grapes, recommending manual harvesting : carrying fruit in trays, sorting and selection of grapes in the vineyard and in the vathouse ;
Ageing the wines in oak barrels : seeking to express specific aromatic qualities and more complex bouquets ;
Welcoming visitors to the estates : introducing passing callers-in to the vineyards, the landscapes and wines.
164 properties
27 appellations
3 300 hectares
President : Alain Raynaud
Cercle Rive Droite - President : Alain Raynaud
Cercle Rive Gauche - President : Francis Boutemy
Board of 7 Directors
Technical Commission / Admissions Commission
Promotion Commission / Youngs Commission
Permanent staff :
Stéphanie Delécrin
To ensure that The Grand Cercle is not just a club made up of members who join by simply declaring themselves as such, but also a real selection of chateaux, united because of their quality, the Cercle submits all its wines to two obligatory tastings every year.
A vintage ready to be delivered undergoes a full blind tasting, carried out by an outside independent jury. Up to now, the Grand European Jury (GJE) has been requested to organise this professional tasting.
Founded in 1996 by François Mauss, the GJE sets out to provide an alternative assessment of the great world wines with reference to the individual scores given by the best international connoisseurs, especially the English and American tasters, whose 100-point scoring method the GJE adopts to make worldwide benchmarking easier.
The GJE assembles at least 12 of its Permanent Members from at least 6 different European Union countries (plus Switzerland) to organise a blind tasting of a selection of wines in two daily 3-hour sessions under the control of a legal entity. “15 top-level tasters in a blind tasting cannot all make a mistake at the same time in the same place with the same wine”.
Every year, a concentration of skills, brought together at a unique moment in time to approve the quality of the wines of the Cercle !
A ‘primeur’ vintage is tasted blind in February by the Technical Commission of the Cercle.
The opinion of professionals based on samples of futures, is the best way to prepare for the official tastings to come…
Alain Raynaud and Members of Grand Cercle des Vins de Bordeaux wish you a happy new year !
Click on the picture ...
Le Grand Cercle des Vins de Bordeaux will organize a Master Class during Vinexpo Hong-Kong, on Tuesday 29 May, from 10.00 am to 11.30 am (Tasting Lab N104/105). With Wilson Kwok (Honorable Advisor Hong-Kong Sommelier Association), thema will be : "Vintage 2015 : (re)discover all the expressions of this great vintage."
Vintage 2015 : taste all the expressions of this great vintage that can be described as delicious and silky in the freshness of its youth. Taste a selection of 6 wines from Bordeaux right bank and left bank, members of Grand Cercle des Vins de Bordeaux, a unique association which groups 140 Châteaux selected for their high quality.
Taste and enjoy : Château d’Arcins (Haut-Médoc), Château Réaut (Cadillac Côtes de Bordeaux), Château Dalem (Fronsac), Château La Croizille (Saint-Emilion Grand Cru), Château de Pressac (Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé). And one more surprise : Château de Cérons (Cérons) 2008 ! Taste this sweet ten year old wine from 2008.
Free entrance - available seats limited.
Le Grand Cercle des Vins de Bordeaux will be in London on March 13th for a preview presentation of its primeurs 2017 and other vintages...! Tasting only for trade and press, from 4.00 pm to 9.00 pm at Meridien Piccadilly (W1J 0BH).
Information and registration : pandora.mistry@businessfrance.fr or claire.prothon@businessfrance.fr
Wines presented :
ENTRE-DEUX-MERS : Château Sainte-Marie GRAVES DE VAYRES : Grand Vin du Château Lesparre
CADILLAC/CÔTES DE BORDEAUX : Château de Haut Coulon, Château Réaut CASTILLON/CÔTES DE BORDEAUX : Château Côte Montpezat, Château de Laussac FRONSAC : Château Dalem, Château de La Dauphine, Haut-Carles, Château de La Rivière, Château Villars POMEROL : Château Mazeyres, Clos Vieux Taillefer LALANDE DE POMEROL : Château de Chambrun, Château Jean de Gué, Château Moncets SAINT-EMILION GRAND CRU : Château Godeau, Château Montlabert, Château Rol Valentin, Château Soutard-Cadet SAINT-EMILION GRAND CRU CLASSE : Château Fonroque, Château La Marzelle, Château de Pressac, Château Sansonnet, Château Yon-Figeac MONTAGNE SAINT-EMILION : Château Messile-Aubert MEDOC : Château La Cardonne, Château Greysac, Château Grivière, Château Ramafort, Château Rollan de By HAUT-MEDOC : Château d’Arcins, Château du Cartillon, Château Lestage Simon, Château Malescasse, Château Peyredon Lagravette LISTRAC : Château Cap Léon Veyrin SAINT-ESTEPHE :Château Sérilhan GRAVES : Château de Cérons, Château Crabitey, Château Roquetaillade La Grange PESSAC-LEOGNAN : Château Haut-Bacalan, Château Haut Lagrange SAUTERNES : Château de Myrat
Le Grand Cercle des Vins de Bordeaux will be present at Prowein, 18- 20 march.
Find us booth H11 F10 and H11 F04 !
List of wines :
Lalande de Pomerol : La Sergue, Château Jean de Gué
Montagne Saint-Emilion : Château Messile-Aubert
Graves : Château de Cérons, Château Brondelle
Saint-Emilion Grand Cru : Château Godeau, Château L'Hermitage Lescours
Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé : Château La Marzelle
Fronsac : Château Dalem, Château Moulin Haut-Laroque
Médoc : Château La Cardonne, Château Grivière, Château Ramafort
Tuesday 13 March : London
from 4.00 pm to 9.00 pm, Meridien Piccadilly - The Terrace
Primeur Tasting and other vintages - 50 wines
Only for press and trade.
Tuesday 27 March : preview tasting Place de Bordeaux
from 4.00 pm to 9.00 pm, Café Maritime in Bordeaux
Only for brokers and negociants.
Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 April : Press Tasting
from 9.00 am to 7.00 pm at Château de La Dauphine in Fronsac
Only for press.
From Monday 9 to Wednesday 11 April : Le Temps des Primeurs
from 9.30 am to 6.00 pm at Château Rol Valentin in Saint-Emilion
Tasting for trade.
Information and registration : contact@grandcercle.fr