Chinese interest in Bordeaux vines seems to be declining: a few investors have left, many others are said to be sellers
On departmental road 2089, as we approach Libourne, the sign has disappeared. Quite a symbol. Imperial Rabbit Castle, just like its counterparts Golden Rabbit, Great Antelope or Tibetan Antelope in other Gironde vines, have regained their former name. The marketing strategy initiated under the reign of their Chinese owner Chi Keung Tong did not fail to attract the media and provoke a reaction in the Bordeaux wine world five years ago. To be able to better sell its vintages to the Middle Kingdom, new exotic names had been adopted, not without attracting some mockery.
Since last summer, these estates no longer fly the Chinese flag and now belong to a French investor, Denis Chazarain. In Libournais or Médoc, the castles have returned to their original name. Their new boss, contacted by “Sud Ouest”, does not wish to discuss these takeovers and the projects he aims for but this quadruple acquisition demonstrates a trend: Chinese investment in the Gironde vineyards, quite significant for around ten years, seems to be seriously weakening.
In Arveyres, near Libourne, Château Larteau became Château Lapin Impérial for some time. Archive Stéphane Klein
On departure?
Illustration with another symbolic transfer signed this year. In Saint-Yzans-de-Médoc, the giant Chinese group Kweichow moutai acquired Château Loudenne in 2013. A short decade and several million euros invested later, the property returned to the national fold, resold to the Gouache family, already at the helm of the Bellerive and Valeyrac castles.
So are Chinese investors leaving? The known examples can be counted so far on the fingers of one hand but, on the ground, the actors are clearly seeing a clear decline. At the head of the departmental Safer, Michel Lachat indicated in our columns at the beginning of November that he no longer observed “a significant enthusiasm among Chinese players seeking to invest in Bordeaux properties”. “They are almost no longer shopping”, he explained. For those who are in place, the situations are very contrasting at the level of the owner groups. Some are looking to resell, others want to be long-term. ”
“They had to create a fantastic site, brilliant for export, it fell like a bellows”
Abandoned
In Saint-Seurin-de-Cadourne, in the Médoc, Mayor Gérard Roi knows this contrasting situation well. The chosen one laughed a little when Senilhac Castle was renamed Tibetan Antelope a few years ago, during the era of Chi Keung Tong. “They had to create a fantastic site, brilliant for export, it fell like a bellows. For a time, the vines were not even maintained”, he explains. But with him, another property –the Andron estate – is also that of other Chinese investors. And “if the beginnings were complicated”, he adds, “it’s going rather well now. ”
Certainly, their number remains marginal. But farms left more or less abandoned are easily located in the vineyard and can be annoying. Particularly due to the risk of disease for the plots of neighboring winegrowers. “We have a certain number of properties in a state of poor cultivation”, underlines Stéphane Gabard, head of the AOC Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur union. “A few years ago, takeovers by Chinese consortia were good news. Today, we see that certain operators have stopped harvesting vines temporarily or more permanently. ”
Around fifty properties for sale
Li Lijuan, specializing in the sale of vineyards, has managed Chinese clients since 2013 at Christie’s in Bordeaux. According to her, around fifty Gironde properties belonging to Chinese investors are now offered for sale. It must finalize the sale of one of them in Entre-deux-Mers: a French family will take over the farm.
Li Lijuan, real estate agent at Christie’s, lists around fifty properties belonging to Chinese investors, now offered for sale in Bordeaux. Archive Fabien Cottereau/”South West”
Several reasons would explain this leak. “Already, our government no longer wants the funds to leave China. Without the possibility of investing, these entrepreneurs prefer to resell, she says. And then, in our country, there is a saying that anything liquid makes money. But ultimately, it turns out to be more complicated. The Chinese like to get rich quickly, they are generally very good at selling but they are a little less inclined towards the whole wine-making process. “The agent notably tells the story of this business manager finding himself with a stock of hundreds of thousands of bottles: an unsaleable piquette.
Some investors therefore no longer hesitate to give up, sometimes at a loss. Li Lijuan thus evokes the example of an important Chinese businessman who has just sold his Bordeaux castle at half price. The transaction will remain confidential. “If this got out, it would reveal that he has lost face”, she explains.
153 Chinese estates in Gironde
According to Laurence Lemaire, author of the book “Le Vin, le Rouge, la Chine” in 2016 and who maintains a census of French estates managed by Chinese, “there must remain 165 including 153 in Gironde”, all the same. “Many castles run by them are also doing very well”, adds the writer, living in Arcachon. I am always stunned when the media write incriminating articles and we do not talk about those who display good health. ”
Because Chinese investment is obviously not synonymous with a ghost castle or selling at a loss. Among other examples, Laurence Lemaire cites that of Bellefont-Belcier, this Grand Cru Classé from Saint-Emilion run by Hong Konger Peter Kwok and just awarded a Best of Wine d’Or, for the quality of its accommodation.
Another success story, that of the Château de La Rivière, in Fronsadais, however hit by a tragic helicopter accident at the end of December 2013 when it passed into the hands of the Kok family. Every year since then, rumors have sent it for sale. Xavier Buffo, its general director, reassures once again about the “stability” of the estate which, every summer for three days, hosts the “Confluent d’arts” festival, bringing together numerous shows and several thousand visitors.
