Who – the protagonist
Corrine Mentzelopoulos, owner of the Château Margaux estate.
What?
Château Margaux has been producing well respected wine since the 16th century, but Andre Mentzelopoulos, a Greek businessman, revitalised the estate’s fortunes after buying it for $16 million in 1977.
Andre died suddenly in 1980 and his daughter Corrine inherited the estate, ushering in innovative practices 10 years before the rest of the industry did.
Since an explosive rise in demand in the early 80s, the Château Margaux estate hasn’t looked back. So popular is their wine, Bono has been one of their many famous visitors.
Why?
The estate’s 80 hectares would produce a first and second batch each year of the highest quality, but the ‘leftover’ wine would simply be sold in bulk to local merchants who mixed it with other bulk wine from the Margaux region.
However, the 2009 vintage ‘leftover’ or ‘third’ wine tasted so good that Corrine decided to retain it all and sell it as a Château Margaux wine when deemed pleasurable to drink.
When?
By early 2013, the 2009 vintage was ready for sale that year. But Corrine and her management team heavily debated how best to market the third wine.
Where?
The estate was located on the left bank of the Gironde estuary, in the heart of the wine-making Medoc region.
Key quote
“When I tasted it (the third wine), I was pleasantly surprised. It was so good that in some past mediocre years, it could have easily qualified as our second wine. It seemed a shame to sell it as bulk, so we decided to keep it and see in a year if it was worth bottling.” – Corrine Mentzelopoulos.
What next?
The marketing of the third wine could play a key role in the estate’s future.
Corinne considered who to target: the loyal customers who had been ‘priced out’ by the first and second wines or tap into the next generation of wine enthusiasts.
Price, channels, promotion, brand position, to name just a few aspects, had to be thought through carefully. |