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This is an article written by Javier Fernández Piera, Chancellor of the Commanderie de Bordeaux in Madrid, in this year of the 40th anniversary of the Madrid Commanderie. The article traces the history of the bond between Bordeaux and Madrid, highlights the remarkable welcome given to Bordeaux wines in Spain, and underscores the fundamental role the Commanderie plays in the development of this market. A personal, cultural, and resolutely European read.

Madrid, capital of Bordeaux

There are anniversaries we celebrate with speeches. Others, with medals. And then there are those we celebrate... by opening a good bottle. This year marks forty years since Bordeaux—the city of great wines, of quays steeped in history and travel— developed a bridge to join Madrid. Not a bridge of stone, but a bridge of fine crystal, of a raised glass. A toast with a destination.

The 1980s were in full swing. Spain was not yet officially part of Europe, but aspired to join. Madrid was buzzing with the "movida," neighborhood cinemas exuded Marlboro and passion, and bars no longer closed, because democracy had a hangover of freedom. In Bordeaux, Jacques Chaban Delmas reigned as Mayor, a monumental figure, and at the French Embassy in Madrid, a man of diplomatic vision and refined taste, Pierre Guidoni, held the reins. It was with them, or thanks to them, that a small group of enlightened men—Bernard Soulier, my uncle Adrián Piera, Daniel de Busturia— decided that Spanish-French relations could not be limited to treaties or official banquets. A toast had to be made with conscience.

In the melting pot of wine, the Hispano-French Dialogue Association was born, a place of exchange and understanding where people discussed business, culture, and the future. But always with a glass within reach. And almost simultaneously, the Commanderie du Grand Conseil des Vins de Bordeaux took shape in Madrid. A fraternity, initially discreet, certainly, but solid, which marked the beginning of a parallel history between these two cities. While Madrid danced to its 80s rock, in private salons, people increasingly talked about Margaux, Pauillac, and Saint Émilion. People drank Bordeaux not as a fad, but out of admiration.

These men—discreet visionaries—discovered much more than statistics at the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce: a sommelier curriculum. A training model that, like everything else that matters, aimed for excellence. And they decided to transpose it to Madrid. Not because the region produced wine (although it did), but because they understood that if Spain wanted to become a tourist powerhouse, Madrid had to offer more than monuments. It had to offer experience. And to do that, train the best. The curriculum was launched a few years later at the Madrid Chamber of Commerce. In itself, it was a diplomatic gesture. A declaration of intent. And the beginning of an alliance that went beyond wine.

While Bordeaux was preparing behind the scenes for the future Cité du Vin—this scenographic marvel imagined by Sylvie Cazes, which has now become a symbol of the wine avant-garde and a temple of liquid culture—Madrid was planting the first seeds of a new gastronomy. The Commanderie acted as a hinge between two worlds: catering, exchanges, welcoming winemakers who came to discover this promising city... and were convinced with each bottle of Bordeaux tasted.

Today, forty years later, Madrid and Bordeaux are no longer the same. They have never been bigger. Madrid has become the capital of high-end tourism, a hub for conventions, a city that inaugurates five-star hotels every year like a new vintage. It receives more Mexican and Colombian visitors than many Latin American capitals. It has more wine merchants than ever, more Bordeaux wine lists than national wines… The miracle is no accident. Behind every success, there is work. And it must be said: the Commanderie de Bordeaux in Madrid is a leader. Its dinners in emblematic places—the Prado Museum, with Goya watching over the wall; the Opera; the patios of the Barrio de Salamanca—show the French what Madrid has to offer: sunshine, culture, elegantly set tables, and a desire to party.

Today in Madrid, we drink Bordeaux with respect. It's no longer a symbol of snobbery, but of wisdom. Of good manners. Of knowing how to drink. Of knowing how to live. Every year, Commandeurs travel to Bordeaux. And every year, Bordeaux returns to Madrid. Almost liturgical exchanges take place there. We alternate the banks of the Garonne like turning the chapters of a great novel: a little bit of Saint Julien, a little bit of Pomerol. We rediscover châteaux dear to our hearts. We visit new ones. We forge old friendships. We dine with owners who make wine, as philosophy is made.

A recent example is the presentation of the Association of Grands Crus Classés of Saint Émilion in Madrid. The event was held at Fortuny, the palace where the legacy of the aristocrats still lingers. There, Sylvie Cazes, the woman who offered the Cité du Vin to Bordeaux, directed an act that went beyond a simple presentation: an opera without a score, in which wine was the star, and Madrid the perfect stage. A true celebration of Bordeaux wine. A "home" for all. Because several winemakers, after the pandemic, like the distinguished winemaker François Lurton, have made Madrid their home for long seasons. Not only for the climate, which is tending to converge, but for the pace of life in this city. Here, we live fast, but we drink slowly. Here, the wines open up for conversation, not for display.

Wine merchants carefully offer them. Distributors include them in their catalogues. And consumers, more informed, more curious, better educated, seek them out. Because Bordeaux is no longer unattainable. It has become accessible. It has conquered Madrid without stridency, without campaigns. I observe this in my work as a consultant, professor of XXX, and advisor to major players in the wine world in this major market that is Madrid and Spain today. And as Chancellor of the Commanderie de Bordeaux in Madrid. By remaining true to itself: elegant, complex, eternal. And behind it all, names such as Félix Losada, the Marquis de Vargas, or Daniel de Busturia, tireless drivers of this winemaking, commercial, cultural, and artistic friendship between Madrid and Bordeaux. The Commanderie has never stopped blazing new trails.

Forty years later, what began as a diplomatic gesture and mutual admiration has become a solid reality. Madrid honours Bordeaux with every toast. Includes it at every training session. Celebrates it at every dinner.

Here, in this city where Goya continues to watch over the walls of the Prado, despite having died in Bordeaux—his final refuge—Montaigne would find a conversation worthy of his spirit; the Bordeaux of yesteryear already has a second home. A first second home.

Madrid. This capital which, without seeming so, has also become the capital of Bordeaux.

Javier Fernández Piera
Chancellor of the Commanderie de Bordeaux in Madrid