In a few remote corners of China, two of France’s top winemakers have more on their minds than a trade row with their most promising export market.
In three far-flung provinces, makers of such lofty French brands as Chateau Lafite-Rothschild and Dom Perignon champagne are investing millions of euros to produce vintages they hope will put Chinese wine on the world map.
In a country where cheap plonk and overpriced mediocre wines still define the domestic industry, the French are partnering with Chinese investors to produce super-premium wines for increasingly discerning drinkers at the market’s top end.
They will likely charge hundreds of euros per bottle when the wines start appearing in a year or two, turning out deeply rich reds and elegantly sparkling wines for wealthy Chinese drinkers who, they hope, will be proud to serve local vintages that are the equal of their imported collections.
“China deserves the production of great wines,” said Christophe Salin, president of Domaines Barons de Rothschild (DBR), which owns the vaunted Chateau Lafite, Ch. Duhart-Milon and Ch. L’Evangile, among other French labels.
“Without wanting to copy Lafite, we wish to produce a great wine on Chinese soil,” he added in an interview.
DBR is investing €10.9 million with partner CITIC, a state investment firm, to develop 25 hectares of vineyards in eastern Shandong province to produce super-premium red wine for the Chinese market.
Moet-Hennessy, the wine and spirits arm of luxury group LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, is also looking to make a top-end Chinese red and is planting 30 hectares of grapes in remote mountains of southern Yunnan province.
China deserves the production of great wines
Moet-Hennessy studied climate and soil conditions at hundreds of locations around China before settling on an area the Government calls Shangri-La, abutting Tibet, to grow Cabernet sauvignon, Cabernet franc and Merlot grapes.
Moet-Hennessy CEO Chris-tophe Navarre would not divulge the investment there but says it is borne two-thirds by Moet-Hennessy and one-third by its Chinese partner, winemaker Vats.
“I dream one day to go back to France with a bottle of red wine produced in the region of Shangri-La and I can say it’s the best wine in the world,” Navarre said in announcing the venture last year.
Moet-Hennessy’s wine portfolio includes the vaunted Ch. Cheval Blanc and Ch. d’Yquem, the world’s most coveted dessert wine. Its champagnes include Dom Perignon, Moet & Chandon and Krug – and it is developing vineyards in Ningxia Hui autonomous region in north-central China with a view to producing China’s first ultra-premium sparkling wine.
Neither DBR nor Moet-Hennessy plans to market its Chinese wines under existing brands. Both say they want to give the wines a unique Chinese identity.
“If they don’t put their brand on it, people won’t buy it at a very high price,” says Monica He, who works for wine importer Menvis in Beijing.
DBR’s and LVMH’s investments into China aim to capitalise on China’s growing thirst for premium wines, but could also help their extensive line-ups of mid-priced wines and spirits.
Chinese consumers are drawn to either high-end or cheap wine, leaving a gap in the middle of the market. By producing a Chinese ‘halo’ wine marque, the French winemakers could draw drinkers to their imported mid-range line-up.
French investors do not have plans to produce still white wines in China, as red wine and champagne are more fashionable for upwardly mobile Chinese wine drinkers.