Bordeaux Fête du Bontemps 2026: Food and wine pairings
April through June in Bordeaux could be described as a vino heaven for wine fans. Beginning with the spring Wine Futures week, where critics and merchants descend to the region to taste and assess the latest vintage, to the Grand Cru tasting weekend in June, Bordeaux hosts months-long wine events, where the delights of the Left and Right Bank are celebrated.
One of the highlights is the annual Fête du Bontemps, a spectacular dining event that, historically, signals the arrival of spring in Bordeaux’s vineyards and marks the close of Wine Futures week.
As the wine flows in Bordeaux, we take a look at the deluxe menu and exceptional pairing wines for the 2026 Fête du Bontemps event. Do you have any of the wines in your cellar?
What is Fête du Bontemps?
First things first: What is the Fête du Bontemps?
This prestigious international springtime event is, in fact, a combination of two traditional events held in the Bordeaux wine world: La Fête de la Fleur and the Ban du Millésime. Organized by the Commanderie du Bontemps du Médoc Graves Sauternes et Barsac, a historic Bordeaux wine brotherhood (and sisterhood!) that celebrates and promotes Left Bank wines, the former dates to 1950, the latter to 2000.
Five years after the end of World War II, La Fête de la Fleur was introduced as a springtime festival to help stimulate the region following wartime devastation. It celebrated the important flowering of the vines.
The turn of the millennium saw the establishment of the Ban du Millésime (vintage proclamation) to mark the end of Wine Futures week.
In 2023, these two vinicultural events came together under the banner of the Fête du Bontemps.
Fête du Bontemps is one of the major annual wine celebrations in Bordeaux. Held at a different Left Bank château each year, it brings together producers, négociants, brokers, and international guests to network and enjoy the new vintage. It’s also one of the local events that sees the initiation of new members to the Commanderie.
In its inaugural year, it was held at Château Smith Haut Lafitte, in 2024 at Château Guiraud, and in 2025, at Château Pontet-Canet. The 2026 event took place at Château Ducru-Beaucaillou.
Cinema and music stars, Michelin-starred chefs, and prominent people from a range of sectors grace the event with their presence. One of the highlights of this year’s initiation and dinner was the presence of Drops of God star, Fleur Geffrie. The actress is a wine fan both on and off screen!
How can you attend? Billed as a high-level professional networking celebration, unlike many of Bordeaux’s spring and summer wine events which are ticketed, you need an invitation. It helps if you’re in the upper echelons of the wine industry or are a star of screen or stage!
Bordeaux food and wine pairings: Fête du Bontemps 2026
Now, for the menu and wines of 2026 Fête du Bontemps. Creative black truffle recipes featured in each course, with vintages spanning 50 years, served alongside each dish.
This elite dinner was held at the palatial Château Ducru-Beaucaillou on April 23rd. Guests numbered 750 from all corners of the globe, which included new members of the Commanderie du Bontemps. Music was provided by top French DJ Martin Solveig, with the celebrations of Bordeaux wine and French cuisine enhanced by Ducru-Beaucaillou launching its newly inaugurated gravity-flow cellars – the result of over a decade of dedicated vision.
Cocktail reception:
Château Couhins-Lurton, Château Olivier, Château de Myrat, Château Latour-Martillac
Dinner
Poireau mimosa a la truffe noir/Leek mimosa with black truffle
Paired with: Château Haut-Marbuzet 2018 and Château Rauzan-Gassies 2015
Why it works
Black truffle and Left Bank Bordeaux are a dream pairing because they share earthy flavor profiles. As Left Bank wines mature, complex "tertiary" aromas of truffle, forest floor, and tobacco create a resonance with the earthy, umami-rich truffle
Canard à la royale et mousseline de pomme de terre/Royal duck and silky potato puree
Paired with: Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 1995 (magnum)
Why it works
Canard à la Royale pairs perfectly with Left Bank Bordeaux because both have a core of richness, depth, and structure. The dish is intense, savory, and textured with reduced sauce and, often, foie gras or truffle, lending a dense, layered character that cries out for a powerful wine. Left Bank Bordeaux provides robust tannins, vibrant acidity, and concentrated dark fruit that cut through the richness while mirroring the complexity of the dish. This mature Château Ducru-Beaucaillou showcases soft, earthy, truffle-like notes, reflecting the flavor depth of the dish.
Saint-Marcellin à la truffe noire/Saint-Marcellin cheese stuffed and dressed with black truffle
Croustille de pain Gascon du Pétrin Moissagais/Crispy slices of Gascon bread from Pétrin Moissagais (Bordeaux’s oldest boulangerie)
Paired with: Château Latour 1975 (double magnum)
Why it works
Soft truffle cheese and crispy, rustic bread work with Left Bank wines because both blend creamy richness, earthy notes, and textural contrast, echoing one another. The cheese’s soft feel and truffle notes match the matured flavors of the wine, like forest floor and subtle spice. Meanwhile, the crisp bread refreshes the palate between sips, highlighting the tannins and dark fruit while the acidity contrasts the cheese’s creaminess.
Crumble amande et sorbet, Fraiser, Perler de truffe noire, Chiboust à la vanille de Madagascar/Almond crumble and sorbet/Strawberry sponge cake, Black truffle pearls, Chiboust vanilla of Madagascar cream
Paired with: Château Suduiraut 2015
Why it works
Sauternes is the go-to Bordeaux for desserts, with its honeyed sweetness, searing acidity, and aromatic complexity complementing and contrasting fresh fruit, nutty tones, and plush, sweet vanilla.
Such a mouth-watering menu just leaves us to say, Bon Appetit!
Wine Futures
The Fête du Bontemps initiation and dinner marks the close of the Wine Futures week of tastings, with 2025 wines being assessed this year from April 20th to 23rd.
What are the defining characteristics of the Bordeaux 2025 vintage? The growing season was defined by climatic extremes, with a warm spring followed by an exceptionally hot summer (in fact, one of the hottest on record in France) and the smallest yield since 1991. Overall, it’s emerging as a low-yield year influenced by high temperatures, showing in wines of concentration and freshness. Early impressions from the tasting indicate a high-quality vintage, potentially, with the profile to stand alongside exceptional years such as 2010 and 2016. Left Bank Bordeaux wines performed particularly well, featuring well-structured, age-worthy wines with great freshness, while Right Bank Merlots display plush, full, ripe notes. Dry white wines display subtle tropical notes balanced by bright acidity.
Can’t get enough of Bordeaux culture and Wine Futures 2026? Read our interview with François-Xavier Maroteaux, President of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux and owner of the acclaimed Saint-Julien estate, Château Branaire-Ducru.
FAQs
1. What is the Commanderie du Bontemps?
It is one of the oldest and most influential wine brotherhoods in Bordeaux, dedicated to promoting and celebrating the wines of the Médoc, Graves, Sauternes, and Barsac.
2. What does the organization do?
It organizes major wine events, festivals, tastings, and celebrations that showcase Left Bank Bordeaux wines throughout the year, both locally and internationally.
3. Who are its members?
Members include 300 major players in the Bordeaux wine trade – châteaux owners, winemakers, brokers, and merchants – along with over 40,000 “Commanders” worldwide.
4. How does one become a Commander?
New members are chosen and ceremonially inducted (“inthronized”) at official events.
5. What values does the Commanderie promote?
Members commit to representing Bordeaux wines everywhere with a spirit of friendship, enthusiasm, and loyalty to the terroir.
6. How old is the organisation?
Although officially established in 1949 after WWII, its origins trace back to medieval monastic wine-commandery traditions in the Médoc.
7. Do they operate internationally?
Yes. They host events and maintain chapters around the world, strengthening the global reputation of Bordeaux’s Left Bank wines.
8. How do you become a member of the Commanderie du Bontemps?
Membership is primarily through selection and invitation, rather than application.
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