Thursday, June 22nd, 2017. Vinexpo has just closed. It is the day that Chinese businessman James Yunjie Zhou has chosen to reopen the doors of Château Renon and invite his guests to discover one of the most beautiful properties of Côtes de Bordeaux. An opportunity for us to evoke the Chinese chateaus of this wonderful appellation of Bordeaux still too often unrecognized.
Côtes de Bordeaux … 950 producers and 12,000 hectares in the areas of Blaye, Cadillac, Castillon, Francs and Sainte-Foy. Its rich historical heritage that extends from the sides of the Gironde estuary and the Garonne river to the borders of the Dordogne department, beautiful hilly terroirs, a quality vineyard and a great diversity of styles in the wines endow it with an undeniable power of attraction. The Chinese people, who are Bordeaux wine lovers and well-informed businessmen, are not misled. Though in the early 2000s, first attracted by brands and iconic names like Lafit(t)e or Latour, they started to get interested in the Bordeaux vineyard, they really arrived in the last ten years, and especially in Côtes de Bordeaux. Seduced by the magnificent residences and historical castles, the beauty of the landscapes and the expressive wines, the Chinese are now in 2017 the owners of 30 estates covering some 500 hectares.
To Jean Medeville, president of the Union of Cadillac Côtes de Bordeaux wines, the men and women of the Middle Empire now make “real investments” in these estates as much for the restoration of the heritage and the vineyard as for the development of their brands of wine in China, but also on other export markets. Positive dynamics for the interprofessional body but that is not always easy to appropriate as they have to be convinced of the value of the appellation Côtes de Bordeaux. “Bordeaux Supérieur” on a label is more significant for a Chinese consumer than Cadillac or Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux!
James Zhou, owner of ORG Packaging (4,000 employees in China and in the world; 40 million beverage cans produced every day) and of Château Renon since 2014, invested tens of millions of euros to give it back its letters of nobility, as much for the architecture thanks to huge works led by architect Jean Pierre Errath as for the viticultural part. A restoration achieved by Chinese people and unequalled in Bordeaux!
All the Chinese properties are not in the same boat. One thing in common nevertheless: first upgrade the estate by restructuring the vineyard and modernizing the working tool. Qu Naijie, a great wine collector and at the head of the Chinese group Haichang, has 5 properties in Côtes de Bordeaux totaling 60 hectares of vines. From his arrival in 2011 his first investments have been completed in the vineyard and in grouping the technical premises now concentrated at Château Laurette and Château Branda.
At Château Lagarosse, Steve Loo, wine distributor in China, chose to replant some of the plots of vines—6 hectares out of the 33 of the estate—and refit the vatroom while preserving the concrete tanks, before he started the renovation of the splendid 17th-century castle, first the façades, then the interior design.
Arthur Fournier, operation manager of Château Birot and son of the previous owners, can only be glad to see that the 37-hectare family estate is taken over by Miao Lin Chen, CEO of New Century Tourism Group (hotels). “He gave a new impetus to the development of the brand Château de Birot and of the property”.
And although the Chinese owners are not often present, the technical managers are kept most of the time. Dominique René, crop manager of Château du Grand Mouëys purchased in 2012 by Jinshan Zhang (group NingXia), has been there for 35 years, helped by his team in the vineyard. Same statement at Château des Chapelains in Sainte-Foy Côtes de Bordeaux bought in 2014 by a couple of Chinese where the woman, very attached to the French culture, chose to live at the château and manages the estate with the old team.
On the wine’s side it must be noted that most of the bottles are produced for the Chinese market. 90% of the wines of Château du Grand Mouëys are distributed in China, nearly 100% for Château Lagarosse. The exports of Bordeaux wines owned by the Middle Empire contribute to the success of Côtes de Bordeaux wines in China: Côtes and Bordeaux/Bordeaux Supérieur have been recording for the last 5 years the best results in exports of Bordeaux wines to China with an increase of 6% in volume between 2012 and 2016 whereas the other groups tend to face a decrease, i.e. 4 million bottles of Côtes de Bordeaux in 2016*. But all these new owners really strive to make French wines, with a single watchword for their technical managers: quality, as the Chinese consumers are increasingly knowledgeable about wine and its culture. Although marketing is the business of native Chinese in order to adapt the product to the market, on the labels for example, and to sell the history of these chateaus, the image has to remain 100% French and the wines have to be grand Bordeaux wines.
“These chateaus [Renon & Lagarosse] are real activity contributors for Tabanac, a village of 1,125 inhabitants, 25 km from Bordeaux. People of Tabanac work there and the new owners really want to integrate in the local life. The participate in the development of tourism and the revival of our peri-rural village.” – Jean-François Broustaut, maire de Tabanac
The prime objectives of the Chinese investors from the arrival have been to give the estates the necessary means to produce the best wines possible and highlight the historical heritage. Now they know they have to work on the fame of their products and brands and therefore deploy sales on other export markets and open the doors of their domain. They have already started and will swiftly develop!
* Sources: CIVB
Jinshan Zhan, owner of Grand Moueys, is also world's first producer of goji, a berry known for its anti-aging benefits, in the Chinese region of Ningxia. He has turned it into a dry 'wine', 100% goji alcohol. Goji is harvested early in the morning then pressed, before it undergoes a fermentation at low temperature and an elevage in French oak barrels. This Goji wine, to serve for the aperitif, will soon be exported and distributed in France with a whole range of goji-based products. A team is currently working hard for this at Grand Moueys!
Château RENON, 532 Moulin à Vent, 33550 Tabanac - Charline Xu
Tél : + 33 (0)6 14 94 00 31 - charline.xu@chateau-renon.fr
www.chateau-renon.fr
Château LAGAROSSE, 33550 Tabanac - Benoit de Guigné
Tél : + 33 (0)5 56 67 58 90 – lagarosse@gmail.com - www.lagarosse.fr
Château de BIROT, 33410 Cadillac - Arthur Fournier
Tél : + 33 (0)5 56 62 68 16 – arthur.fournier@chateau-birot.com - www.chateau-birot.com
Château du GRAND MOUËYS, 242 route de Créon, 33550 Capian
Laurence Ducos – Tel: + 33 (0)5 57 97 04 40 – export@grandmoueys.com
www.grandmoueys.com
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