The predators have been circling - the Indians, the Russians, the Singaporeans - and now they have all been pipped at the post by the Chinese. International companies with a few million Euro to spare have long had an eye on the prestigious Bordeaux Wine industry. The Japanese were one of the early investors, with Suntory buying their own château - Château, Lagrange, in Saint Julien - back in 1983.The Indians have tried and failed and the Russians have offended almost everyone with their belief that all they need in money. Much to the chagrin of the Russians, local owners have preferred not to sell rather than let the crude Moscow Mafia approach to succeed. What the Russians fail to realise is that you can not buy class, culture or Frenchmen proud of their wine heritage.
On the other hand, the Chinese, with a more subtle approach have just purchased an obscure Bordeaux château, the 500 year old Château Latour-Laguens. The 60 hectare property was sold to the Longhai International Trading Company Ltd for an undisclosed sum. Located near the village of Saint-Martin-du-Puy about 50 kilometres southeast of Bordeaux, it produces about 160,000 bottles a year.
Also in the news is the decision to clamp down on the ability of producers to market the same wine under the name of different "Châteaux". In an attempt to simplify Bordeaux wines for the consumer, estates are being told to stop using several different chateau names for the same wine, bottled at the same property. It will curtail the marketing of companies such as Château Falfas in Cotes de Bourg which has been selling under three different names. Lurton properties such as Château Quantin and Château Coucheroy will also have to cease the same marketting.
A 1921 decree supposedly outlawed the practice, but it has not been enforced in recent years so that it is now hard for consumers to select a wine that comes from a genuine château. While there are over 12,000 châteaux the region has over 7,000 winemakers.
The Bordeaux wine union, the Federation des Syndicats des Grands Vins de Bordeaux (FGVB), has been given until 31 January 2008 for properties to decide which of their current names they wish to keep. They have been allowed a maximum of two. The eventual aim is to bring the number of names down to under 10,000.
'A chateau may use only one name,' a spokesperson at the FGVB told decanter.com. 'With the possibility of a second if it can be proved it was in use before 1983. Two properties may also be vinified in the same cellars, as long as the vinifications are carried out completely separately.'
The 1921 decree states that only one chateau name per property may be used. Over the years, however, the rule was less and less strictly applied. In 1993, a new decree was issued restating the rule, but it wasn't until the crisis of 2001/2002 that its application became a priority.
The decision will affect chateaux across the region, including Chateau Falfas in Cotes de Bourg, that currently bottles under three different names. Lurton properties such as Chateau Quantin and Chateau Coucheroy will also be affected.
Tags: Bordeaux, France, Wine, Travel Tourism
