As the excitement began to climb throughout the Bordeaux region in preparation for Vinexpo, the Commanderie du Bontemps organized on 16th June, in the den of Lafite-Rothschild, the final of its prestigious Left Bank Bordeaux Cup. The best tasting clubs from America, Europe and Asia were present. The EMLyon Business School won for the second time in a row, an historical performance!
Since 2002, the Commanderie du Bontemps organizes an important student wine tasting contest around classified growths from the Médoc, Sauternes, Barsac and Graves. Several schools from around the world were competing: Colombia Business School and Thuck School of Business from the USA, Bocconi University and HEC Lausanne from Europe, Hong-Kong University of Science & Technology and Zhejiang University from Asia, and SciencesPo Bordeaux and EMLyon Business School from France.
After answering a series of 10 very specify theoretical questions, that require a precise knowledge of Bordeaux châteaux and wine in general, 6 teams were equal with 8 right answers. They, then, had to answer more practical questions on the wines tasted.
The first series of wines combined Châteaux Fieuzal, Pape Clément and Domaine de Chevalier, in vintage 2004. Three Pessac wines, complicated to distinguish. At this point of the competition, EMLyon Business School and HEC Lausanne are in front of the others. For the second series, the teams had to find the vintage 2002 and the Margaux wine, among three glasses. Finally, sweet wines decided between the two leading schools. EMLyon managed to recognise a Barsac among two Sauternes wines and the vintage (2010) of the three sweet wines tasted. HEC Lausanne thought they were tasting wines from 2005.
This year, EMLyon wins the completion; HEC Lausanne is at the second place and SciencesPo Bordeaux at the third one. The 100%-francophone podium underlines the renewal interest of French students for Bordeaux Grands Crus. Indeed, this competition has often been won by English teams.
The evening finished with a meal in the cellar of Lafite-Rotschild. Châteaux owners and the members of the different teams were around the table, to appreciate Bordeaux Grands Crus, like a magnum of Lafite Rothschild 2007.
Read further on iDealwine Le Blog:
- London’s Imperial College wins Left Bank Bordeaux Cup
- Auction trends: regions and domains to follow in 2017
- When Brexit becomes a wine issue or an opportunity
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