The Chinese Wine Market is Worth Our Attention and Focus

The British King's Exclusive Table Wine

Haut-Brion wine estate has the longest history in the entire Bordeaux area. It was founded in 1525 by Pontac, a French Aristocrat. In the middle of the 17th century, it first started selling wines with its own winery name on it, instead of selling wines by the barrel. In Bordeaux, it is definitely the first wine estate to develop its own brand. When this gorgeous wine was exported to Britain, it suddenly won the praise of King Charles. He consumed at least 168 bottles of Haut-Brion in 1661 when feasting with his guests. In the year 1666, Fransova Augues from Pontac family opened a premium restaurant named "L'Enseigne de Pontac", which became a popular social gathering place for the upper class overnight. It is beyond the question that Haut-Brion was the only wine served on the tables there. In the year 1935, Haut-Brion wine estate was purchased by an American banker Clarence Dillon. Since then, it became a property of the Dillon family, along with several other wineries around, which were purchased later, like the famous one La Mission Haut-Brion. Now the Clarence Dillon's grandson-in-law, H.R.H. Prince Robert of Luxembourg, is the owner and director of the property.
Recently, H.R.H. Prince Robert of Luxembourg and winemaker Jean Philippe Delmas have been invited to China by ASC Fine Wines Company. Our newspaper's journalist finally had the honor to interview H.R.H. Prince Robert of Luxembourg.

Chinese People Began To Appreciate Premium Wines.

BYD : Beijing Youth Daily
PRL : H.R.H. Prince Robert of Luxembourg

BYD: Have you ever been to China before? How much did you know about Chinese domestic demand for Chinese wine?

PRL: Two years ago I came to China. It was the very first time I came here to promote our wines. I remember quite well that there were far fewer people attending to the wine tasting the last time. Isn't this a sign of our wine's growing popularity among Chinese people?

BYD: Right now, the whole world is aware that China is the last battlefield for all the luxury products and brands. Is this also true for the wine industry?

PRL: It is without doubt that with the dynamic development of China's economy, Chinese people's purchasing capacity has boosted by leaps and bounds. French wine businessmen are fully aware of that. Now, more and more French winemakers are paying special attention to the feedback from Chinese market. It proves the best that China's Wine market is the market that we expect the most from.

BYD: As the owner of one of the most prestigious French estates, do you think that Chinese consumers are equipped with enough knowledge of wine to appreciate it at the present time?

PRL: In China, people are consuming more and more wines each day. A greater number of people began to appreciate the most premium wines like our Haut-Brion. Fine wine is like a fine cigar. Once you get into it, you can never get rid of it.

BYD: What is the production volume of the 'French Big Five' wine estates? Can it meet the demand of the world market?

PRL: As a brand of high-quality, Haut-Brion is restricted to production. It is just difficult to satisfy everyone's demand for the best wine.

BYD: Could you please predict the trend which the price of the wine tends to follow in few years ahead?

PRL: It is obvious that recently there is a price uptrend of wines accelerated by the constant growth of demand in North America, Japan and China.Clarendelle has incorporated the balance, elegance and spirit of Haut-Brion. So it is our dream to enable Clarendelle reach more people.
Our Wine Is Incomparable With Other Wines

BYD: I was told that Haut-Brion was the first one who developed its own brand. Why did you name it "Clarendelle"?

PRL: My family bought Haut-Brion a long time ago, in 1935, by my grand-father. At the time, he was an American banker His name is Clarence Dillon. Of course the company he founded owns Haut- Brion, as well as La Mission Haut-Brion, and other wineries. We named the brand because we wanted to honor my grandfather. Besides, Bordeaux was called a Claret. We combined the two names together, trying to create an easy name for all English speakers while representing both my father and the Bordeaux wine.

BYD: If you compare Clarendelle with other class-one wines from Bordeaux area like Mouton Cadet, how do you think Clarendelle differs from all other wines?

PRL: Please don't make comparison between our wine and others. As we started making Clarendelle, We wanted to make it a premium wine with high quality. The production volume is not large. But neither the price nor the quality are like any other Bordeaux wines. Many of our customers and friends like our wines. Unfortunately Clarendelle does have a very limited production. I am not saying that Clarendelle is of the same high-quality as Haut-Brion, but it inherited Haut-Brion's complexity and smoothness and it is super premium.

BYD: How many types of wine does Clarendelle make?

PRL: Red, white and rose, and they are all Bordeaux wines. But totally four types of wine up to now, because it also includes a type of sweet wine. We call it Amberwine. It is produced in Monbazillac in southwest region. These four types are not rich in production. We sold 180 thousand red wine with vintage 2003. This is the largest sale. The figure for white wine is 110 thousand, and 97 thousand for rose wine. The sweet wine has the smallest sales volume, which is no more than 20 thousand.

The Lord of Graf - Haut-Brion

Haut-Brion is located in the Pessac Leognan region in Bordeaux, on the left bank of Gironde River. This region is full of gravels and screes, which compose a good natural drain system. It plants three varieties of white grapes, Medoc, Graves and Sauternes; two varieties of white grapes, which are Saint-Emilion and Pomerol. In 1855, this the most famous vineyard in Bordeaux area was rated as first class winery for its long-standing quality, prestige and price by Napoleon III. This is the year when Haut-Brion was the only vineyard selected outside Medoc region in red wine classification. So it is not exaggerating to call it the Lord of Graf.

Even with nearly 500 years of fame, Haut-Brion is by no means an old, stagnant winery. In all first-class wineries, Haut-Brion is the pioneer for innovative spirit and reform. Having been making wine for three generations, Delmas family has always been able to achieve the best balance between the traditional style and innovation. In 1961, Haut-Brion was the first to use stainless steel fermentation temperature control equipment in history; in 1969, Haut-Brion was also the first to start using spiral caps for sealing in Bordeaux.

Return to Clarendelle News Page