Paulo's Blog: China and 2010 Bordeaux

April 19th, 2011

So wine critic Jancis Robinson tweeted first about flight BA7988, which we took from Bordeaux-Merignac to London Gatwick, but I ought to write about it too.

A little more than a week ago, after spending two weeks tasting 2010 barrel samples in Bordeaux, I boarded BA7988 to fly to London to spend the weekend there before I headed back to Hong Kong. That week’s weather was much warmer than usual and the waiting room was muggy. There I found dozens of sweaty UK wine merchants waiting to get on the same flight. I seemed to find everyone in a bubbly mood and it was very much a gathering with old friends.

I picked a few people’s brains and sought their comments on the vintage. Most of them consider 2010 to be almost as good as the previous year, and some wines may well surpass the already legendary 2009. Furthermore, they believe the campaign will turn out to be a great success, but it will very much depend on the reaction of the Asian customers. I was thrown in the corner, as they are all keen to how buyers in my part of the world will respond to another “vintage of the century.” I simply told them there will be many buyers for a promising vintage like 2010. However, I worry that while the quality is overall excellent, the expected high prices may scare some customers away. A few went on to say they will visit Hong Kong before the en-primeur campaign and will closely gauge the interest of Asia, as it may ultimately affect their buying. One jokingly asked how much I would pay now for his allocation of 2010 first growths since his UK customers no longer participate in the game.

Once I got on the flight, I found myself sitting next to Nick Pegna of Berrys and behind Jeremy Stockman of Watsons, both powerful men in the Hong Kong wine scene. Over the course of the flight, we shared some thoughts about our market. We seemed to agree that only the serious players with great relationships, reputation and deep enough pockets can fully participate in an en-primeur campaign such as 2009, and that 2010 will be the same. We noted how physical stock actually plays a bigger role in our part of the world. I also added that while we annually trade a great amount of en-primeur with serious collectors and investors in Hong Kong, most of the Chinese market still hasn’t really caught on. This is because either they do not have an allocation or they basically want to pay and get their bottles immediately.

As I was leaving Gatwick, I dwelled on the thought that demand of fine wine in China will continue to grow, and more overseas merchants will focus on our market. If Bordeaux wants to continue its dominance in this niche sector in China, the selling approach may need to be changed.

1) Why should the larger allocations continue to go via markets like the UK or USA before they reach the end consumers in China? The bottles are ultimately sold and drunk here these days anyway.

2) If the chateaux don’t want to take all the eggs from existing baskets and put them in the Chinese one, then open up the cellar and start feeding the market with greater quantities. Don’t artificially squeeze supply and cause a frenzy here.

3) Finally and most importantly, I believe prices released en-primeur have to be reasonable in order to attract attention. No one, especially the Chinese, want to pay two years in advance and get no return.

The center of the wine world has definitely moved to our turf. BA7988 may be going to London, but like many bottles of fine wine, there should be a direct flight from Bordeaux to China.

Paulo Pong is the owner of Altaya Wines Limited, a fine wine merchant in China. He started off as a wine collector and has now ventured into the restaurant business in the city, including The Press Room, Classified and The Pawn.

庞建贻先生爱好红酒 及喜欢收藏极品佳酿, 于2001年建立大亚洋酒有限公司, 销售业务更拓展到中国大陆, 更于2006年合资开拓饮食业务,数年间在香港已拥有多间餐厅如 The Press Room, The Pawn, Classified.