TOGETHER IN THE CIRCLE Dear Sir or Madam, Just like the wine world which surrounds it, watches it, sometimes envying it, and often drawing inspiration from it, Bordeaux, our beautiful region, is joining together. Our right and left bank wine areas have been moving forward together for years with a single momentum towards the typicity of their wines and greater quality. We constantly endeavour to make our wines more noble, more beautiful and seductive; so they become even more outstanding. You must acknowledge that … well… we can be proud of what we have achieved ! The time had become ripe for men and women, all of them wine growers from the Right Bank, also to join together. Because our vitality as a unit never tires, our enthusiasm for innovation does not wane, because we also felt that this is something we wanted to prove to you. The Circle, as we now call it, came into existence in the summer of 2002 from within a small group of friends coming from the prestigious Pomerol appellation. This noble idea immediately attracted dozens of our neighbours wishing to join us. From the appellation of Sainte-Foy Bordeaux to the Côtes de Bourg, from the Premières Côtes de Bordeaux to the Côtes de Francs, taking in of course Saint-Emilion and its neighbouring communes. All of them are united under the same charter of quality, which requires us to work zealously but with serenity, to proclaim loud and clear, far from our vineyard slopes and plots, and far from our châteaux, our faith in the future of our wines, with their ever contrasting styles but unceasing authenticity ! Today, we are presenting 127 wine estates, some of them prestigious, others less well known, some are more imposing, and others more modest. They are proud to wear the colours of our wines, united under the banner of the Cercle Rive Droite. As such, they wish to offer you these wines to taste, not with undue anticipation but with the secret desire to steal from you a little smile… of pleasure. Please take The Time then to come into the Cercle Rive Droite ! Enjoy your tasting of this sample of great Bordeaux wines. Alain RAYNAUD President of the Cercle Rive Droite de Grands Vins de Bordeaux