the luxury or extend the brand
EXPERIENCE
HBR.ORG
Case Study
The owner of the prestigious Château de Vallois must decide whether to launch an affordable wine. by Daniela Beyersdorfer and
Vincent Dessain
The Experts
Corinne Mentzelopoulos is the owner and CEO of
Château Margaux, a firstgrowth wine estate in the
Bordeaux region of France.
Preserve
The Luxury
Or Extend
The Brand?
G
ILLUSTRATION: LARA TOMLIN
Philippe Sereys de
Rothschild is the Vice
Chairman of Baron Philippe de Rothschild, a family firm that manages the firstgrowth Château Mouton
Rothschild, other estates, and branded wines.
HBR’s fictionalized case studies present dilemmas faced by leaders in real companies and offer solutions from experts. This one is based on the HBS Case Study “Marketing
Château Margaux” (case no. 507-033), by John
Deighton, Vincent Dessain, Leyland Pitt, Daniela
Beyersdorfer, and Anders Sjoman. It is available at hbr.org.
aspard de Sauveterre shivered as he stepped out of a side entrance to his château. While the late
September days were still warm, he could feel autumn approaching. The 75-year-old owner of Château de Vallois, a famous wine-producing estate in the Bordeaux region of France, felt a familiar thrill.
This was the season he and his team had worked toward the whole year; any day now the bell for the harvest, the famous vendanges, would ring. He quickened his pace down the long, well-kept alley through the wrought-iron gates to start his ritual morning walk through the vineyards.
He loved these hours when the rising sun bathed the misty landscape in shades of yellow and gray. The quiet, cool air cut through the thoughts that had been swirling in his head since his granddaughter burst into his study yesterday with an audacious proposal.
Claire de Valhubert had grown up on the estate but had moved to Paris fol-
lowing the sudden death of her mother,
Gaspard’s daughter, seven years ago. After graduating from one of France’s elite
HBR.ORG
Case Study
The owner of the prestigious Château de Vallois must decide whether to launch an affordable wine. by Daniela Beyersdorfer and
Vincent Dessain
The Experts
Corinne Mentzelopoulos is the owner and CEO of
Château Margaux, a firstgrowth wine estate in the
Bordeaux region of France.
Preserve
The Luxury
Or Extend
The Brand?
G
ILLUSTRATION: LARA TOMLIN
Philippe Sereys de
Rothschild is the Vice
Chairman of Baron Philippe de Rothschild, a family firm that manages the firstgrowth Château Mouton
Rothschild, other estates, and branded wines.
HBR’s fictionalized case studies present dilemmas faced by leaders in real companies and offer solutions from experts. This one is based on the HBS Case Study “Marketing
Château Margaux” (case no. 507-033), by John
Deighton, Vincent Dessain, Leyland Pitt, Daniela
Beyersdorfer, and Anders Sjoman. It is available at hbr.org.
aspard de Sauveterre shivered as he stepped out of a side entrance to his château. While the late
September days were still warm, he could feel autumn approaching. The 75-year-old owner of Château de Vallois, a famous wine-producing estate in the Bordeaux region of France, felt a familiar thrill.
This was the season he and his team had worked toward the whole year; any day now the bell for the harvest, the famous vendanges, would ring. He quickened his pace down the long, well-kept alley through the wrought-iron gates to start his ritual morning walk through the vineyards.
He loved these hours when the rising sun bathed the misty landscape in shades of yellow and gray. The quiet, cool air cut through the thoughts that had been swirling in his head since his granddaughter burst into his study yesterday with an audacious proposal.
Claire de Valhubert had grown up on the estate but had moved to Paris fol-
lowing the sudden death of her mother,
Gaspard’s daughter, seven years ago. After graduating from one of France’s elite