ボルドー最高評議会
the Grand conseil du vin de bordeaux
CommanderIES, wine brotherhoods

Maître Christophe Waterkeyn - Commanderie de Bordeaux in Wallonia

30 Commanders and new inductees were present for this first event of the year for the Commanderie de Bordeaux in Wallonia, on Friday, April 5th 2024: a tasting of superb single bottles right bank/ left bank and Crémants de Bordeaux from the Commanderie’s cellar, in one of the places of excellence of the wine trade in East Walloon-Brabant. We were received by the new keeper of the cellar and Commander of Bordeaux of Wallonia: Claudio Pirquet.

There was plentiful EXCELLENCE!

In one of the high places of the excellence of the wine trade in Walloon Brabant, what could be more normal than to meet tonight focused on what Bordeaux does best to stir our emotions with the wine in our glasses held by the hands of real friends.

Tonight’s theme is not related to appellations or grape varieties, vertical or horizontal or to either owner. No. Tonight’s theme is the friendship between the Commandeurs, centered on wines from our cellar and its bottles left one by one.

We are here tonight in the den of one of our Commandeurs who has just accepted the role – oh so important – of guardian of our cellar: I have named Claudio Pirquet. He put a lot of effort into receiving, listing, making an inventory, numbering, storing, packing, carrying and transporting, drafting and preparing this qualitative and quantitative inventory of our precious bottles ….

Dear Claudio, receive all our thanks.

I will soon see the walls of the offices of Claudio Vins et Spiritueux proudly decorated with his diploma of Official Ambassador of Bordeaux Wine.

Tonight, the Executive Committee has concocted, with the expert help of our host, a tasting of the wines of OUR cellar. This wine cellar has been formed over the years either by the balance of wines offered to the various events, or by Bordeaux professionals present at events that we organise, or by one-off purchases at the discretion of the various Vinothécaires. The moment here to remind you that one of our values within our Commanderie de Wallonie is to ask for the fair and even reduced price of the annual fee and the various registrations for our events throughout the year. It is not a question of hoarding the contributions of the Commandeurs and everything is redistributed annually to the Commanders participating in events.

It is also time this evening to thank the members of our Executive Committee, beginning with Olivier, our Vice Maître and Grand-Argentier, Benoît, our Grand Echanson, and Daniel, our Maître des Requêtes.

I am also pleased to inform you that we are currently 80 Commanders and that we have 20 applicants who wish to join us this year.

I will ask them to be patient since we will induct 10 of them on November 9th during our solemn induction ceremony for reasons of evening timing. I remind you that we make no difference in reception between the Commandeurs and the Inductees.

You are already all in the antechamber of total happiness and welcome to all our events.

You all received a few days ago the well-fleshed agenda of events that take place in Bordeaux, where we are expressly invited alongside the 4 events that we organize ourselves this year with the help of Bordeaux.

It starts tonight with this tasting between us of the wines of our cellar, embellished with some small sandwiches. Then we will have the great moment of our trip to Bordeaux, where everything will be combined in the superlative in Fronsac and Canon-Fronsac, Saint-Emilion and Lussac-Saint-Emilion from May 19th to 23rd, with 29 of you who are registered. Then the tasting of the wines of our friends Frank and Tina Blanchard of Château La Botte in Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux, where we will find ourselves back home with happiness after meeting them last year for a memorable rib steak in front of the storage cellar, on a beautiful after-summer noon, all crowned by our induction ceremony on November 9th in Genval at Château du Lac in the presence of the Ordre des Vignerons des Bordeaux & Bordeaux Superieur which will come represented by a dozen winemakers from Bordeaux.

On that last comment and on behalf of the Executive Committee, I wish you a good tasting… and bon appétit!