Social media posts and some French media reports suggested hip-hop star and producer Jay-Z enjoyed a trip to Bordeaux wine country earlier this month, even if the precise itinerary of the tour remained open to speculation.
The trip coincided with Jay-Z’s 54th birthday on 4 December, and was also held to celebrate the 50th birthday of Jay Brown – co-founder of Roc Nation with Jay-Z in 2008, and the label’s current vice chairman.
Although details of the trip remained somewhat mysterious, it’s believed Brown temporarily ‘privatised’ exclusive spa hotel Les Sources de Caudalie for guests.
Beyoncé, married to Jay-Z since 2008, and Rihanna were among the other high-profile guests visiting the region, according to Le Figaro newspaper, citing Instagram posts by celebrity news agency Backgrid.
One photo posted to Instagram by @KodakLens appeared to show Jay-Z with a glass of red wine at famous Pomerol estate Petrus, along with the message ‘Brooklyn to Bordeaux’. The account is run by senior Roc Nation executive Lenny Santiago.
Jay-Z visits Bordeaux wine country…Photo published on Instagram by @kodaklens.
There were also unconfirmed reports of a visit to Châteaux d’Yquem, with media outlet France 3 citing Instagram updates from Santiago. One photo appeared to show bottles of Yquem 1969 and 1973, the birth years of Brown and Carter, noted Le Figaro.
Other social media footage purportedly from the trip showed several guests in-front of large-format bottles of Petrus.
Château d’Yquem, owned by LVMH, said it had no information about the journey of Jay-Z and friends in Bordeaux.
Alice Tourbier, owner of Les Sources de Caudalie, said that she couldn’t comment on reports about the venue’s latest high-profile guests.
Les Sources de Caudalie, which lies within the grounds of Château Smith Haut Lafitte, is one of the most luxurious hotels in the greater Bordeaux area – it recently welcomed King Charles III and Queen Camilla during their state visit to France.
Local newspaper Sud-Ouest also speculated last week about the arrival of a rarely spotted luxury train, the Venice Simplon Orient Express (VSOE), at Bordeaux’s St-Jean station in the same period.
It is operated by the Belmond group, which is part of LVMH’s portfolio, but it wasn’t clear who would be getting onboard.
Jay-Z is no stranger to the wine world, and in 2021 LVMH acquired 50% of the star’s Armand de Brignac Champagne, also known as ‘Ace of Spades’.