The Story of Millesima
Celebrating its 36th anniversary in the year 2019, Millésima now more than ever reinforces its leading position in the direct sale of fine wines from France and abroad to private individuals.
Back in 1983, when Patrick Bernard created this Company, it specialized mainly in Bordeaux fine wines, already offering a wide range of Bordeaux En Primeur. Since then, the selection has gradually expanded to include wines from other iconic wine regions in France and from around the world.
The Company’s undeniable success, evidenced today by its presence in over 120 countries, has been made possible by the constant rigor of our team, who tours the vineyards in search of top references, while always remaining attentive to the changing preferences and needs of today’s wine lover.
Over time, Millésima has adopted all available communication tools to enable it to get even closer to its customers and better meet their expectations. From printed catalogues to web-based applications, including videos recorded at the estates and broadcasted through our YouTube channel, a variety of very active social media platforms, an online chat service connecting web-users directly with our sales consultants and our innovative wine futures alerts system that updates wine lovers about the newest Futures releases through text message, the utmost care is taken to remain at the forefront and offer a personalized service. It is no coincidence that Internet sales today represent 75% of Millésima’s total sales, with more than 3.5 million visitors to our webpage in 2018.
In 2018, the wine trade turnover for Millésima and its affiliates reached € 77 million.
150,000
Private customers across 120 countries.
300,000
Deliveries per year
142,250
Fans on social networks
A leader in fine wines distance selling, Millesima does not forget the importance of human contact and has developed a whole range of wine tourism activities that are brand new in Bordeaux.
A major player in Bordeaux wine tourism
Each year, Millesima organizes exceptional events to gather wine connoisseurs from around the world. Our “Panorama tastings” in PARIS and BORDEAUX, dedicated to Champagne, Burgundy, En Primeur, the Rhône Valley and Italian wines, are certainly not to be missed! These annual events provide wine lovers the rare opportunity to taste premium wines and meet the owners of the producing estates. Millesima now also hosts WSET courses in Bordeaux. The Wine & Spirit Education Trust remains the most important international training institution in wine and spirits. Trainings go up to the Diploma (Level 4), the completion of which has become an essential prerequisite for aspiring Masters of Wine. In 2018, we were shortlisted as one of the 8 best WSET training centers. Always ready to share its universe with the general public, Millesima has opened its cellar doors to visitors through organized tours, events and tasting sessions for small private groups and individuals, with the specific offer adapted to the preference of visitors. This service is expected to be back in full swing at the beginning of 2020, following the completion of our site renovation.
A unique catalogue
The tireless work of our team of wine experts has yielded a curated collection of the world’s best wines: our selection of over 12,000 references.
Bordeaux
Bordeaux fine wines still represent 60% of Millésima’s turnover. Our «Large Format» offer is truly exceptional. With undeniable expertise, Millésima is one of the 5 biggest buyers of Bordeaux en primeur. Each year, our offer includes over 300 wines en-primeur, an outstandingly comprehensive range!
Champagne
Champagne today represents 12% of Millesima’s turnover. Over 440 cuvées and 650 items in standard bottles, magnums, jeroboams, mathusalems, in a wide variety of vintages, make up the core of Millesima’s range. Year after year, we expand our selection with the greatest brands, with 36 currently on offer.
Burgundy
Our selection of Burgundy wines is even broader than our Champagne collection. We offer wines from 75 of the most famous Burgundy estates.
Rhone Valley
Millesima also offers a fine collection of wines from the Rhone Valley: 50 of the greatest estates in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Côte-Rôtie, Crozes-Hermitage, Hermitage, Saint-Joseph, Cornas, Saint-Péray, Condrieu…
Provence, Languedoc, South-West and Corsica
We offer wines from 45 estates in Baux de Provence, Côtes de Provence, Bandol, Saint-Chinian, Madiran and Corsica Figari: the best red, white and rosé wines from these appellations complete Millesima’s selection.
Loire Valley & Alsace
Millesima’s Loire Valley range today includes wines from 14 estates in appellations like Saumur, Pouilly-Fumé and Sancerre.
And from Alsace, 6 great estates are included in the Millesima range. The very best Gewurztraminer, Riesling, and Pinot Gris are offered, among others
International wines
Millésima also offers a range of international wines (from outside of France), from over 160 estates, which perfectly meet the preferences of our customers. These include more than 750 Italian wines from Tuscany, Piedmont, Veneto, Trentino Alto Adige (and soon from the south of The Boot), as well as the most iconic references of Spain, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and some flagship wines from Porto, Chile, China, Argentina and Greece. All wines selected by Millésima, be they from France or abroad, are sourced directly from the producing estates and have known only two cellars: that of the producing estate and our own two-hundred-year-old cellar in Bordeaux.