For a moment, though I had asked what she meant by a different approach, there was no helping the fact that the atmosphere on Château Margaux’s terrace settled into a hush. Few people would have drawn such a polite yet cold line before the owner of one of Bordeaux’s five First Growth châteaux.
The faint tremor at the edge of Corinne Mentzelopoulos’s elegant smile was clear enough to see. It might have been disappointment, but it seemed closer to the bewilderment one felt when the strongest card they had played failed to take effect.
Still, it could not be helped. No matter how much she was called the queen of Bordeaux, handing over the core secrets of a winery was out of the question.
“From Redwood’s standpoint as well, it would be a great honor to collaborate with Château Margaux of Bordeaux. I only meant that it would be best to do so in a form that makes use of each other’s strengths and benefits both wineries.”
“You keep Redwood’s secrets so tightly locked away that it only makes me more curious, but I’ll accept that.”
“Thank you. Mm... This is how I see it. What Château Margaux wants is sustainable power, isn’t it?”
Curiosity entered her disappointed gaze. I set down my teacup and gestured toward the vast vineyards of Bordeaux.
“Bordeaux is trapped within the great fortress known as the 1855 classification. It’s a magnificent tradition. But look at the current flow of capital around the world. The young billionaires of Silicon Valley, the newly risen magnates of Shanghai and Singapore—they no longer go wild over a hierarchy from 150 years ago alone. They pour their money into what is most perfect right now, and into exclusivity that only a chosen few can enjoy.”
“So, what exactly is this different form of collaboration you’re proposing?”
Strength returned to Corinne’s voice.
“Well. Since your proposal came so suddenly, I can’t say whether what I have in mind is a perfect alternative, but what do you think about sharing a market?”
“Sharing a market?”
“We combine Château Margaux’s network of European traditional royal families and old money with the list of American IT giants and Asia’s newly wealthy who love Redwood.
If we were to give it a grand name... perhaps something like the ‘Redwood-Margaux Society’?”
“The Redwood-Margaux Society...”
My proposal was quite unconventional. And perhaps because of that, Corinne’s interest seemed piqued, and her upper body leaned slightly forward.
“Interesting.”
“Roughly 500 people? We would charge them for an ultra-premium membership. Only those members would receive exclusive limited-edition sets pairing Château Margaux’s rare old vintages with Redwood’s Astra Veil or Aether... What should we call it? Whatever you prefer...?”
“The Heritage & Future Duo... That just came to mind.”
She must have been interested, because she even chose the name herself.
“That sounds good. In any case, we would provide exclusive access to Château Margaux and our Redwood cult wines. The price would exceed even what Madame imagines—wouldn’t it be at least several thousand dollars per bottle?”
The smile on her face soon turned troubled.
“If our Margaux stands side by side with a Napa winery, the backlash within the Bordeaux alliance will be no small matter. Families like Lafite or Mouton Rothschild will criticize us, saying we shared our status with some rootless upstart winery.”
At that moment, Warren, who had been silently savoring the wine beside us, set down his glass and spoke. His voice was low, but it carried a weight that dominated the terrace.
“Madame, they said the exact same thing during the ‘Judgment of Paris’ in 1976. But what was the result? Bordeaux was furious, but collectors around the world went wild. What Brian is proposing now is not simply joining hands with an upstart winery in Napa. It is to cast aside the old map of 1855 and proclaim a new wine empire for 2010. The reason they will object is because they are afraid. Afraid that Margaux will join hands with Redwood’s innovation and leave them far behind.”
“Mm...”
A single remark from none other than Warren Winiarski, the master who had dealt Bordeaux its defeat, struck directly at Corinne’s pride.
“And that logic is somewhat amusing, because from the moment Château Mouton Rothschild joined hands with Robert Mondavi to create Opus One, did Bordeaux not effectively acknowledge Napa Valley’s technical prowess? Though Madame’s thoughts may differ...”
“...That is also true.”
She closed her eyes for a moment and sank into thought. It was likely a conflict between the dignity she held as the lady of a First Growth château and the practical interests of a cold-headed businesswoman. We quietly drank our tea and waited for her thoughts to settle. I did so thinking she would probably accept my proposal.
But when she finally opened her mouth, her words missed my expectations.
“It is certainly a very good proposal. But this is not what I want.”
She said in a clear tone that it was not what she wanted. At those words, I realized I had misunderstood something.
‘She wasn’t after money?’
After Astra Veil won Best of Show twice in a row and Aether received 100 points from Robert Parker, Redwood began to be loved by wealthy figures from all walks of life, including America’s newly risen tycoons. The fact that Astra Veil had no inventory left despite 3,000 cases being released to the market every year was proof of that.
That was why I had thought she would be interested in the American market... but the fact that she wasn’t puzzled me.
“Surely you’re not saying you truly want Redwood’s information? That is... not a proposal we can accept.”
Not all information was core confidential material. Some information involved things already being attempted by advanced wineries. But things like the winery’s integrated data were core secrets to the point that only Warren could view them at the winery. Showing that to outsiders would be no different from giving them hints about the vinification of Astra Veil and Aether.
“I understand that.”
She cut off the conversation again there and looked at me meaningfully. By this point, it felt as though we were playing a riddle, but it was not unpleasant enough for me to get up and leave.
Because her attitude was not overbearing. Seeing that, I felt I understood what it was. It seemed like something she could not bring herself to say with her own mouth.
At that moment, Warren spoke calmly.
“For hundreds of years, Bordeaux produced elegant, delicate flavors thanks to its cool climate. But since the 2000s, global warming has caused the grapes to ripen too quickly, alcohol levels to soar, and that delicacy to begin collapsing.”
In that instant, a crack appeared in her expression. Warren had hit the heart of the matter.
“......”
“As I wondered where your impatience came from, this came to mind. I don’t know if my guess is correct. Bordeaux has been promoting the climates of 2008 and last year as exceptionally good, saying they will become historic vintages, but looking at it another way, no one knows how long such climates will continue.”
Warren’s words precisely stabbed at the weakness of Bordeaux wine. No, in truth, it was no different from voicing the concern held by wineries all over the world.
Bordeaux in particular made wine through intuition and experience, and in some years it failed while in others it struck gold. The problem was that even when an all-time great vintage emerged, they could not perfectly explain scientifically why it had turned out so well. There was one reason. The data was poor.
Thinking of it in reverse, it meant that even if they wanted to create another all-time great vintage, they could not do so at will, and it also meant that the authority of Bordeaux’s five First Growth châteaux might collapse at any time.
The reason she had called me was not because she wanted to earn more money right away, but because there was a far more fundamental reason.
“Are you trying to mock me?”
At Corinne’s cold gaze, Warren shrugged.
“Of course not... No one who makes wine would ever look down on the queen of Bordeaux.”
“But you have the right to do so.”
“Hahaha, I am grateful for Madame’s praise, but the value of wine is not determined by one or two blind tastings, is it? Even more so when you consider the tremendous power Château Margaux possesses.”
Although Burgundy wines could be said to command far higher prices, when it came to influence and actual power in the wine world, Bordeaux could not be challenged. Bordeaux en primeur determined the price guidelines for Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot all over the world, which alone said enough.
Moreover, Bordeaux possessed the Place de Bordeaux, the most sophisticated and powerful wine distribution system in the world, allowing hundreds of professional négociants to place Bordeaux wines in cellars in every country across the globe.
In addition, considering its value as an investment asset, its political and symbolic authority—its diplomatic power—and the collective action of the Bordeaux alliance, it could be said that Bordeaux’s power stood at the very highest place in the wine world.
“If those words were not meant to mock me, then you will present a solution, won’t you?”
Warren shrugged, then turned to look at me. I gave a small laugh and spoke to Corinne.
“If you are concerned about the sustainability of Château Margaux, one method Redwood can offer does come to mind.”
At those words, Corinne’s eyes shone.
“What is it?”
“There is already an example, after all. For instance, how would it be if Château Margaux and Redwood joined hands to craft a new wine? Like a ‘second Opus One.’”
At my proposal, Corinne’s eyebrows trembled faintly. Opus One. The name created in 1979 by Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe of Château Mouton Rothschild was a turning point in Napa Valley’s history. But what I was proposing now carried even more weight than that.
Corinne was not the only one intrigued by my words. Warren also nodded with an admiring expression and spoke.
“When Mouton Rothschild joined hands with Mondavi, they mixed name and capital. But the collaboration with our Redwood would be a little different. It would be a task of clothing the blending soul that Château Margaux has protected for hundreds of years in Redwood’s precise cultivation technology. Oh my, this... I’m already getting excited.”
Warren, who said he was excited just hearing about it, and Corinne, who was wiggling her fingers as she turned it over in her mind. Then she looked straight at me.
“Specifically, what form would this take? Are you saying we should mix Bordeaux and Napa grapes?”
“No. The grapes would be strictly from Napa, but Madame’s chief winemaking team would participate in the entire vinification process. However, there is one condition. All vinification will take place at the Redwood winery I am currently building. That means I will lend your winemaking team its geothermal loop system, gravity-flow facilities, and microbe-controlled environment as perfect tools.”
I studied Corinne’s expression as I continued.
“Madame’s team should focus on their senses. We will provide an environment without error so that those senses can become reality. Even if Bordeaux’s climate turns fickle, inside Redwood’s underground fortress, we can maintain the most elegant temperature we desire all year round. We will show the world how the elegance of Margaux blooms in Napa terroir.”
Corinne nodded and fell silent for a moment. As a clever businesswoman, she was likely immediately calculating the destructive power this proposal possessed.
If this project succeeded, Château Margaux would secure a technical bridgehead in Napa that would allow them to maintain their style even before the crisis of climate change. Meanwhile, Redwood would effectively be riding straight to the pinnacle of the world’s wine hierarchy as a technical partner officially recognized by a Bordeaux First Growth château.
Of course, since we were already considered to have reached the summit with our current technology, this was not a project that absolutely had to be accomplished. We could do it or not do it, but if we did, there would be considerable gain.
Besides, it was also true that adding another wine with a clear narrative to the winery’s list was an attractive prospect.
“Is your ambition to surpass Opus One?”
“Opus One is a legend of the past. We will create the standard of the future. Madame, if the Mouton Rothschild family hears this news, they will probably lose sleep over it. Over the fact that Margaux has gone beyond them and united with Napa’s most innovative force.”
At my provocative remark, a deep smile finally spread across Corinne’s lips. I had precisely touched the invisible competitive spirit among Bordeaux’s five First Growth châteaux.
“Very well, Brian. But just as you worry about technology leaks, we too are cautious. While our winemaking team uses your facilities, won’t Margaux’s blending secrets all be recorded by those precise sensors of yours?”
At Corinne’s sharp point, I lightly shook my head.
“You don’t need to worry about that. The data will be used only for environmental control. I am simply providing the perfect climate in which Madame’s team can work best. As if God himself were bestowing the finest weather.”
After hesitating briefly, she finally opened her mouth.
“Very well. And the Redwood-Margaux Society—I like that as well.”
As expected, once the most important matter had been dealt with, she did not let go of the project that would immediately make money either.
“An excellent choice.”