Exclusive: Treasury’s Rising Chateau St. Jean Unveils Lightly-Oaked “Bijou” Chardonnay

One of the bright spots amid a tough period for Treasury Wine Estates lately has been the strong performance of Sonoma winery Chateau St. Jean. Over the past three years, the Chardonnay-focused brand has averaged 11% annual volume growth in the U.S. market, including a 12% advance to 620,000 cases to earn Impact “Hot Brand” honors for its 2013 performance. The trend is continuing in 2014, the company tells SND.

This month, Chateau St. Jean is seeking to further capitalize on its strong position in Chardonnay with a new lightly-oaked wine called Bijou. Translating to “jewel” in French, Bijou is sourced mainly from Central Coast California vineyards and retails at $14 a 750-ml. Treasury says the new brand is targeted mainly at the female consumer and is the first wine in the Chateau St. Jean portfolio to be bottled under screwcap. 30,000 cases were produced for the inaugural 2013 vintage.

Treasury Americas vice president, marketing, Barry Sheridan said the lightly-oaked Bijou presents a contrast in style to Chateau St. Jean’s existing Chardonnay offerings. “There are two distinctly different Chardonnay taste profiles that consumers identify with; the crisp/fruity/floral segment (lower oak) and the richer/rounder/buttery segment with a higher oak profile,” he noted. “The Chardonnay category is underserved by the first segment, so we decided to launch a lightly oaked counterpart to our North Coast Chardonnay.”

Treasury plans to continue supporting Chateau St. Jean with its two-year promotional partnership with singer Sheryl Crow, which it says has paid dividends since launching last year. In addition to Bijou, the brand’s Chardonnay range includes the North Coast label ($10), as well as a Sonoma Coast version ($25) and an on-premise-focused series of single-vineyard Chardonnays ($25). California Chardonnay comprises 18% of the 329-million-case U.S. wine market at 58 million nine-liter cases, up 1.1% in 2013, according to Impact Databank.

Tagged : Treasury Wine Estates, wine

GET YOUR FIRST LOOK AT 2025 ESTIMATES AND 2030 PROJECTIONS FOR THE WINE AND SPIRITS INDUSTRIES. ORDER YOUR 2025 IMPACT DATABANK REPORTS. CLICK HERE.