When the myth surpasses reality.

What made the success of Pétrus ? Kennedy or Queen Elisabeth ?
What about Le Pin ? The collector from Thailand or Hong Kong ?
Did Hardy Rodenstock make Eglise Clinet or Lafite Rothschild famous ?
Do the 1855 classification or Robert Parker make a wine successful ?
As for Valandraud and its garage, is it Parker, Bettane or the Japanese ?

Go figure how a wine becomes an icon, keeps or loses this status. Some have an idea why, some the reason, but if it was so simple, it would be largely reproduced, imitated, copied. Each time a success was copied, it only increased the credibility of the original and not always brought success to the “replica”, except for a few films or books. The declination of an initial success is rarely followed by a second one.
Why do I write about this? The reason is that I read a long comment, often funny and certainly true, on the site of La Passion du Vin concerning Le Pin in Pomerol.
Why this question? Not asking would be surprising…
What makes a success? Quality? Not enough. Commercial talent ? Not sure.
Novelty ?
In wine, it would be known.
So what does?

I am interested in this point for our “high-end” cuvee Les 3 Marie I produce in Maury with my partners in the Roussillon. I would like this cru created in 2004 to be successful and which, for now, has not yet seriously reached the stars from the south in France, even in the Roussillon!
The 2004 vintage being a bit too cerebral could be an explanation. However, 2005 is explosive, smooth and already so good and easy to drink? It is as my employees and us, the owners, became shy, anxious by the ones already established, waiting for I don’t know who (Parker?) or what, a signal, a push in the right direction.

It is like our Maury: the incredible comment from Michel Bettane made us just begin to realize the quality of this Maury. To the extend of my knowledge, beside Christian Dalbavie who thinks of presenting it in the USA instead of (let me say in passing) our importer who fell in love with it during his last visit in Maury with his employees, but who thinks about selling it, or buying it?
Even the cakes from Lopez don’t make the stock disappear, so what? Too many wines, too many good wine?
It would be a good title: Too many good wine by Thunevin… This would certainly help the stock disappear.