Chateau Lagrange at 30+
Thirty years ago, the Japanese company Suntory bought Chateau Lagrange, a third growth.
I checked in with Bruno Eynard, general manager and wine maker, in advance of the chateau hosting the Fete de la Fleur last month. He had observations about global warming, China and the US, as well as observations on the patience and capital required in rebuilding the biggest classified growth.
Check out my piece over on wine-searcher.com. Above, comparative photos of the vat room in 1983 and 20013.
On July 9th, 2013 at 11:11 am ,Bill Haydon wrote:
The people who equate Chinese ownership of wineries with the previous Japanese purchases and declare that everything will be just fine are comparing apples to oranges.
There are vast cultural differences, and in particular business culture differences, between the Japanese and Chinese. In fact, one could say that their aims and methods are diametrically opposed. For the Japanese, there is a strong cultural imperative to improve and perfect the product, build strong brands and from that market success will flow. For the Chinese, it is all about the deal, the trade, getting over on the other guy and taking as much profit off the table as quickly as possible. The product is merely a (highly malleable) means to that end. This is–as proven time and time again with Chinese quality problems, environmental degradation, workplace safety, substitution of substandard materials and product scandals–neither a recipe for responsible stewardship or high quality.