A couple of weeks ago, on the afternoon of 22nd May, iDealwine made its first public appearance in Singapore since the recent opening of its new office in this vibrant city at the Grand Tasting organised by Bettane&Desseauve! The event was the start of an exciting week for wine lovers and professionals as it was followed by the first edition of Vinexpo in Singapore.
Bettane&Desseauve and iDealwine share a partnership going back many years. In fact, it dates back to our beginnings so showing our support and being part of this fantastic event was an easy choice for our team to make!
A fantastic variety of exhibitors
More than 40 domains and properties from all over the world travelled to be part of this day. The wines, which each exhibitor had carefully selected, were already delivered to the impressive structure and place of many events, Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre. After a warm welcome from Bettane&Desseauve staff, visitors were granted entry to a hall lined with fabulous wines to discover or rediscover.
As every single label was handpicked and selected by the domains and wine critics from Bettane&Desseauve, you could only find gems which had been awarded tasting scores of 90 and above. What a treat for the palate!
We were delighted to meet some of our partners again, who were presenting their latest cuvées such as Les domaines Albert Bichot from Burgundy or Maison Drappier from Champagne. In fact, they were even on our neighbouring tables, and we couldn’t resist trying each other’s respective bottles. We used this great opportunity to share our thoughts on the Singaporean market.
Hand-picked wine selection
Around 5,000 visitors had the chance to discover three of our classic wines from the fixed-price catalogue. We were presenting treasures from three regions important to the local market such as Château Durfort Vivens from the prestigious Margaux appellation, in its superb 2010 vintage.
The château’s wine has been crafted into a distinct style rivalling that of its majestic Bordeaux neighbours. Today, it is managed by Gonzague Lurton, and its vineyards rub shoulders with several plots belonging to the famous Château Margaux.
Joining it were the wonderful 2020 Chablis Premier Cru Côte de Léchet from producers Jean Paul & Benoît Droin and some bubbles with AR Lenoble’s Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut made from the Chouilly parcel in the Champagne region.
The 2012 from this Champagne house with centuries of experience is made entirely from Chardonnay grapes that were harvested by hand. The house was founded in 1870 and is still family owned, having been passed down through four generations. It now embraces a highly environmentally friendly workstyle in its vineyards, holding a French HVE certificate.
The public’s favourite cuvée during the event was by far the Chablis Premier Cru. As one of the few white Burgundy present and from a well-known appellation that is quite popular in Asia, visitors were looking forward to trying this wine and many said that it was certainly worth coming to the event for!
This rare Premier Cru (the 2020 vintage produced only 500 bottles) demonstrates the knowledge of the father and son from the Droin family who have worked here for five centuries, making them one of the oldest families producing wines in Chablis. It has risen to the top of the appellation, offering precise, generous wines with a fine mineral persistence.
Our iDealwine family has grown recently with an office in Beaune alongside the one in Singapore. From there, we can create closer relationships with local partners and find new opportunities for our customers.
The bottle of Bordeaux also demonstrated the talent of the Château’s winemaker at the Grand Tasting. After being left to breathe, its pronounced flavours showed its strong resistance to time and the amazing way it has softened with each passing year.
Prestigious Masterclass
Despite it being the first edition for both Le Grand Tasting and Vinexpo, the events were brilliantly organised. Bettane&Desseauve had thought of everything, and the afternoon was filled with many different activities so that there was something for everyone to enjoy.
Trade and press were able to enter a few hours before the rest of the public to allow them to discover the new additions, meet the teams from Bettane&Desseauve, the founders, and of course, all the exhibitors who come all the way to Singapore.
Once the trade hours had passed, VIPs and public visitors were invited to join and take part in the Masterclass organised during the second part of the event. Two famous names from the wine world were present to give their insights and guide the public through a prestigious tasting session. If you were lucky enough to take part, you would have enjoyed a glass of Klein Constantia and heard about this South African wine’s fascinating story. For those who love Bordeaux, Château Léoville Las Cases also presented their cuvées from the 2009 vintage and talked about how their terroirs performed exceptionally well this year.
A thriving partnership
As iDealwine and Bettane&Desseauve have been working together for quite some time, we prepared a little surprise for them. Since we all made it our mission to bring wine and new discoveries to wine lovers 20 years ago, we decided to bring a very special bottle for this occasion.
We created a tailor made challenged for Thierry Desseauve, one of Bettane&Desseauve’s founders, as he has a reputation of being a talented wine taster. To really test how good he is, we presented him a blind bottle to describe.
In a matter of minutes, he correctly guessed the region by the shaped of the bottle as it had the very typical shoulders of Bordeaux style glassware. The first aromas to reach his nose, strong but not aggressive, intense fruits and a notable spiciness, only confirmed that he was right.
After a little thinking and recalling the numerous wines he has tasted in his professional life, he identified the appellation which was none other than the famous Margaux on Bordeaux’s Left Bank. He soon guessed that it could be the 2000 vintage which he described as a phenomenon vintage in this wine region, distinguished by a constant evolution that cannot be negatively impacted by time.
The final step of identifying the producer was tough. Thierry Desseauve listed the various well-known Châteaux of the appellation and settled on Château Siran, which is owned by the Miailhe family.
Our long-term partner brilliantly identified the exact appellation, label, vintage, and producer! And all this in a matter of minutes. Congratulations to him for this exquisite demonstration of his knowledge.
As the visitors were discovering the wines around us, some of them were courageous enough to accept the challenge as well. It is not every day that you can try a 23-year-old Bordeaux after all!
What’s next for iDealwine x Bettane&Desseauve
After this successful first double edition in Singapore, we are confident that this partnership will continue to grow in Asia, a very dynamic region.
Bettane&Desseauve will be back in South Korea with the second edition of their Grand Tasting in Asia taking place in the fantastic city of Seoul in October 2023. Make sure you save the date! They have already announced exciting projects and appearances at this event, so keep an eye out for the ticket box-office opening.
Thank you to all the Bettane&Desseauve team for their enormous help and professionalism while preparing for and during the events. We are always delighted to work with another passionate team!
See you in Seoul!
