La Commanderie du Bontemps du Médoc Graves Sauternes et Barsac is an historic organisation that keeps the wines of the left bank of Bordeaux front and centre of the Bordeaux social calendar, organizing traditional festivals, events and parties throughout the winemakers’ year.
This brotherhood of wine ((although there are many female members too!) brings together 300 major Bordeaux players of wine makers, brokers and merchants, to promote the wines produced across 12 appellations through major events in Bordeaux. They also celebrate with chapters across the world, raising the profile of Bordeaux overseas by bringing together personalities passionate about their wines around choice bottles.
‘Commanders’, of which there are now 40 000 worldwide, commit to ‘Everywhere and in the presence of whomever’ represent, celebrate and defend not only the wines but also the values of friendship, cheerfulness and loyalty to the terroir the wine embodies. More than 200 new members are inthronized into the Commanderie every year and the different events.
A history of celebration
The official creation of the Commanderie dates from just after the second world war in 1949, when the wines were in dire need of a champion, but it can trace its origins back to the middle ages when religious ‘commanderies’ in the Médoc relied on wine as their major source of revenue. These wine making monks became advisers to many wineries of the region.
Starting in the Médoc, the Graves region joined in 1959, the same year Sauternes and Barsac created their own Commanderie. They in turn joined in 2000.
What’s in a name
Although ‘Bontemps’ literally translates into ‘good times’, which seems appropriate for a group that spends most of its time organising parties, it actually takes its name from the ‘Bontemps’ a traditional shallow, wooden bowl, that was used to beat egg whites for fining or clarifying the wines.
A Year of celebrations
There’s been no shortage of opportunities for the brotherhood to organise celebrations throughout the year, they have organised over 400 events and festivals since they were created.
Le Saint Vincent,
Vincent of Zaragoza, is the patron saint of winegrowers and wine merchants. He was a 4th-century deacon and martyr. In January, his Saint’s day is celebrated in wine regions around the world and Bordeaux is no exception. This is the first of the major Commanderie annual events, shared by everyone who works in and around the vineyard. The Archbishop of Bordeaux celebrates mass in the morning, new members are sworn in and anywhere between 600 and 1,000 guests sit down to lunch! In 2024, it was held in in Léognan in the Graves with a procession of the Commanders in full regalia, parading from the church through the streets before lunch.
La Fête de la Fleur has been their most emblematic event of the year. It was created as a Spring festival in 1950, the very first of the celebrations of the Commanderie. In 1959, to mark the joining of the Graves and Médoc Commanderies, it was christened La Fete de la Fleur. Spring is the perfect time to celebrate the flowering of the vines, an important event in the viticultural year predicting the future volume and quality of the harvest to come. Around 1500 guests come together every year to celebrate this special and optimistic moment. It slowly became the social event of the year, especially when it was held during the Vinexpo wine trade show when the world of wine descended on Bordeaux. Hosting châteaux competed to create prestigious events, with Michelin star chefs creating spectacular dinners to complement the wines. Cellar masters marched amongst the diners presenting large format bottles of prestigious wines, all donated by the Bontemps members. International stars and personalities were inducted into the brotherhood and firework displays and concerts closed the evening.
The wine trade still descends on Bordeaux in the spring. Thousands of wine professionals from around the world come for ‘en primeur’ week when the region presents its new vintage to the trade. In 2000, the first Ban du Millésime celebration was initiated by and for the Bordeaux merchants to mark this en primeur week.
Since 2023, these two prestigious events have now become the Fête du Bontemps. This party brings the Primeurs week to a close with a grandiose event in a different left bank Chateau each year.
This is where chateaux, négociants and courtiers network and celebrate with their clients and connections. The first 2023 edition was held at Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte (Global Best Of Wine Tourism winner in 2019 and Grand Cru Classé de Graves. 900 guests celebrated in the presence of Prince Albert II of Monaco enjoying diner organized by Nicolas Masse, the two-starred chef at the restaurant La Grand’Vigne restaurant of Sources de Caudalie. In 2024, it was held for the first time in Sauternes, at Château Guiraud (Global Best Of Wine Tourism winner in 2022 and 1er Grand Cru Classé), when over 1000 international guests celebrated the new vintage with older ones over a star studded dinner. Mark the 2025 date in your diaries, the event will be on 17th April at Chateau Pontet Canet in the Médoc.
Everyone welcome
Bordeaux festivities aren’t restricted to the trade. The Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB), organises the Week-end des Grands Crus, when enthusiastic amateurs can also dip their lips into the Bordeaux party scene. The UGCB is responsible for organizing the Bordeaux primeurs tastings every spring and their 132 Châteaux members wanted to open up the celebrations to all Bordeaux lovers. A week or so after the primeur circus is over, they organise a public tasting of over 100 Bordeaux châteaux in the centre of Bordeaux, all presented by owners and wine makers. Circuits are organized to visit the vineyards with lunches at various properties and gala dinners in the châteaux. The next Grands Crus Weekend is 13th-15th June 2025, another date for your diaries.
Bordeaux Fête le Vin is a wine festival open to all. From 19-22 June 2025 the banks of the Garonne River in downtown Bordeaux will become party central. This popular and convivial annual event celebrates Bordeaux as a destination through the wines of the region, highlighting environmentally-friendly, local, artisanal products and the city’s heritage. Focused on tasting, visitors can meet the wine makers face to face in pavilions showcasing the regional appellations of Bordeaux and explore their wines through different interactive experiences.
There will be cultural and festive events, drone shows, concerts, food stalls offering local specialties, and beautiful tall ships moored along the quay open to the public. In keeping with Bordeaux’s commitment to sustainability, the festival is an eco-responsible event, certified ISO 20121.
Le Marathon du Médoc
Another very popular Médoc festival, that is open to all, the Marathon du Médoc was co-founded and is organised by the Commanderie every year since 1984. 8500 runners and 2300 volunteers come together to create what is known as the longest marathon in the world, thanks to detours certain runners take into the vineyards! International participants run through over 50 of the most prestigious chateaux of the Médoc where participants can choose to refresh themselves with water or wine. And it’s a big party with a dinner of ‘milles pates’ (a thousand feet, or a thousand pastas!) the night before and Chateaux such as Phelan Ségur in Saint Estèphe opening up for special dinners and lunches.
Taking the party to the world
In 2024 Commanderie de Bontemps dinners were held in Paris, New York and Tokyo. There are also 97 chapters of La Commanderie de Bordeaux in 27 countries, where thousands of members celebrate Bordeaux with visiting wine makers presenting their wines during gala dinner, intronizing local personalities. The UGCB have also organised 80 events in 15 countries meeting over 40 000 passionate Bordeaux lovers.
You don’t have to come to Bordeaux to celebrate but you really should.
Article's author: Wendy Narby - Insider tasting Photo credits : ©WendyNarby and ©Guillaume Bonnaud