An initial press conference on 9 November at Château Haut Brion, Pessac-Léognan Premier Grand Cru Classé, yielded news of ‘repositioning’ Bordeaux’s youngest appellation, Pessac-Léognan, with a new logo and publicity campaign that de-emphasises its link to the larger Graves region, while underscoring its Bordeaux city origins.
Pessac-Léognan: L’Esprit Bordeaux is meant to clearly communicate that Pessac-Léognan’s 70 châteaux with 1,880 hectares under vine ‘flank the outskirts’ of the Aquitaine capital, making ‘our wines quintessentially Bordeaux’ – so goes the text in a branded brochure that highlights the appellation’s soils and climate, its red and white wines, its family-owned wineries and its proximity to the city of Bordeaux.
Speaking at the conference, Jacques Lurton, president of the Pessac-Léognan wine association, explained that although the appellation was created in 1987, ‘it is developed on an ancient terroir where the first wines were cultivated 2,000 years ago, less than half an hour from Bordeaux city centre’.
‘The idea was to effectively define our strengths, and what we want to become, or where we want to go in the future,’ said Lurton during a second event at the end of November.
‘We wanted a new logo first, and then a new tagline,’ which was put forward by branding consultant Pascal Beucler and inspired from answers given during a survey of wine industry professionals.
‘The idea is that we are an urban appellation within the city of Bordeaux so we have to look towards, and associate, it with our communication’ said Lurton. ‘We are proud of
