China’s effect on Bordeaux’s Global Market
Before there were Wine Magazines, Wine Awards, Wine Symposiums and Wine Critics, there was Napoleon Bonapart III. In 1855, there was an Exposition at the Universelle of Paris. Visitors from around the world were to taste the wines of Bordeaux. He wanted a way for guests to know their differences according to the different reputations of chateaus and their respective costs. The wines were ranked and labeled First to Fifth Growth. The most notable being from Medoc (Left Bank) of Bordeaux. These wines were primarily Cabernet Sauvignon, with Merlot and Cabernet Franc in a supporting role. Hints of Petite Verdot, Malbec and Carmenere add spice and complexity for more mouthfeel.
The flavors of these wines are complex with blackberry, black currants, mint, (primary aromas from the fruit) heavy cigar box notes and pepper (secondary aromas from new toasted French oak barrels). They need a lot of time as the new oak adds tannins to the already heavy tannic wines. Over time, the wines develop hazelnut and marzipan notes from the bottle age that they desperately need. The soils are gravelly and well drained, causing the plants to produce smaller berries with a strong concentration of the flavors. Supposedly the wines have softer tannins from these soils. But the French add so much damn new oak, one would never know.
Somehow these wines, which take maybe a decade to open up, became infamous. It’s a little more than my Sweet Tea and fruit forward palate can handle. I scoff at these thousand dollar bottles. So how in the heck did that happen? Are average Americans drinking these? Most Americans are newly weened off of Coca-Cola.
The year was 1982. Robert M. Parker launched his career as a wine writer and wrote about Bordeaux. Americans all over jumped on the Bordeaux band wagon. And Topsy Trading Company in China started putting Bordeaux Wines in 5 Star Hotels in China. Wine importers took note and the well to-do in China began drinking Bordeaux. In 2008, import taxes on Bordeaux went from 40% to 0% and Bordeaux took off throughout China. For a country that’s been drinking tea for thousands of years, I’m sure they relished in this wine wave.
I read somewhere that there are new vineyards in Morocco selling the noble grapes to Bordeaux producers. Unless the bottle says Estate grown, I’m not certain that the grapes have to be 100% from Bordeaux. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if their wine laws are similar to other places in the world that allows for up to 20% of grapes from other appellations in the blend. Although the number of vineyards in Bordeaux has increased since 1855, they haven’t made more land. Bordeaux produces 900 million bottles annually. China is purchasing 8 million gallons of it annually. Apples to apples. It’s about 2.5 gallons to a case. So that would mean China is buying about 38.4 million bottles, according to the BI (Bordeaux Index). That’s a big chunk of the market and how is Bordeaux actually able to produce that much?
Grapes were growing in what would become Napa in the 1830’s, before California was even a state. Many growers planted grapes from cuttings from France, because those were the most travelled and growing in places all over the world, thanks to kings and queens of France and England. Thus, because these same Bordeaux grapes that were made famous by Napoleon in 1855, then again by Robert Parker in the 1980’s, the general public thinks these wines are the best. They certainly go for a pretty penny. And people are sure these are the best? You have to wait a decade to drink them! Maybe it’s a case of monkey see, monkey do. China has become a major player in the wine market, thanks, in part, to France. Makes you wonder what side of the fence France is on in the proxy war. Americans need to focus on our own identity and preferences and drink American.
