Red Obsession Page #6

think some Chinese groups

or some Chinese individuals

should acquire some

chteaux in Bordeaux,

see what it is to make wine.

It's more complex than you think.

And if they bring passion

along with RMB, that's fabulous.

We need to remain an

open country, you know.

Today the world is their territory.

They're beginning to explore

everything that is possible

in other parts of the world.

Although Bordeaux may

be used to foreign investment,

this new relationship differs

in one significant way.

It makes sense for

them, but it will not last.

If you produce wine in France,

you have to be recognized

as a wine producer in France,

even if you are Chinese.

And the only way to be recognized

is to sell, at least, in France.

I understand very well that a Chinese

that buys an estate here,

first idea

- "I'll produce, and then, in production,

"I adapt my label and

I will sell in China. "

But we will see how it

will be in 5 or 10 years.

It now seems that

Bordeaux's largest customer

is becoming its competitor,

and on a much grander scale

than anyone could have imagined.

Currently, the per capita

consumption in China

is less than one

bottle of wine per year.

In the West, the average

is about 35 bottles.

But as grape wine

consumption gains popularity

amongst the broader

population of 1.4 billion,

these numbers are set

to change, in a big way.

To cope with

the increasing demand,

China is now planting over 20,000 acres

of new vineyards every year.

Within the next four decades,

China is set to become

the world's largest producer of wine.

Chinese people, we

are very proud of ourselves,

of our culture,

so we think that if we

want to do something,

we can do it better,

we can be successful.

Well, I think

that the government feels

it's very important

to promote grape wine, in

particular, over spirit wine,

just because of

distribution of resources.

For one thing, we all know

grapes can grow in areas

which don't suit potatoes

and grain and corn,

and all of those very

important staple crops.

But after

centuries of cyclical famine

and food shortages,

prime agricultural land is at a premium.

Winemakers must look further afield

to find suitable land for grapevines.

In arid regions

on the fringes of the

great Central Asian deserts,

the Chinese are preparing

the ground for vineyards.

Giant, state-owned

corporations have big plans

for remote Ningxia province,

in north-west China.

Consultant winemaker Demei Li

trained at Bordeaux's Chteau Palmer.

He has brought his expertise

here to He Lan Qing Xue

in the hope of developing

a top-quality wine.

It's

a very dry region, a very cold winter.

And, uh, you know, we-

during the wintertime we should

bury the vines under the soil.

Otherwise the plant

cannot survive, so...

that's the big difference.

The summer, during the green

season, is quite hot and warm.

The temperature is quite

high in the daytime,

but during the night,

quite a low temperature.

So, I think the terroir gives this

wine a difference from other regions.

I never thought about competing

with French Bordeaux wines.

Just to make a drinkable wine

that people can appreciate.

Bordeaux has a long history

- they have a bunch of chateaux.

But China is just like a baby,

we just start to make wine.

Ladies and gentlemen,

welcome to the 2011

Decanter World Wine Awards.

On to the red

Bordeaux varietal over 10.

And the winner is...

...the 2009 from He Lan Qing Xue.

To collect this trophy we

are delighted to have with us

the president, Jian Rong.

Well, it was surprising to find

a Chinese wine winning a gold medal

and also winning the

international trophy,

and by a majority vote it came top

- so what can I say?

It was tasted three

times, completely blind.

It's a surprise.

I never think we could win this,

so high, the highest trophy,

I'm very excited.

The Chinese wine industry

has improved a lot,

so it encourages us to

continue to work hard.

Chinese people,

we are very aspirational,

we want, as much as we

can, to have the best

because we like to try new things,

we like to enjoy new taste,

we like outside influences

as much as we are proud of what we have.

Every Chinese person

has one goal in life,

which is to make life better

for the next generation.

In stark

contrast to last year,

the 2011 growing season in Bordeaux

has seen extreme weather,

with heatwaves and sudden hailstorms

sweeping across the Mdoc.

Late heavy rains have

increased the risk of disease

and growers are having

to rush their picking

to avoid fruit rot.

Well, this is

a challenging season,

this is a challenging vintage.

This year, the vines, they are

a little bit shy, to be honest,

they don't talk a lot.

We have to listen to her very carefully.

It means that you have to be

clever, more clever than usual.

You really have to ask

yourself, "What should I do?"

The challenge is to

make the best as possible

with a fruit that is not the best.

The

bad news is that quantity

is even more limited

than what we thought

and 2011 might well be the smallest crop

since 2003.

With yields down

and some of the fruit

damaged by bad weather,

winemakers are having to work

hard to salvage what they can.

But what kind of

vintage the 2011 will be

is anyone's guess.

After breaking all price

records this time last year,

Bordeaux has suffered

its largest decline

since the global financial crisis.

Prices have slumped across the board

and sales of the top Bordeaux wines

are down an astounding 60%.

It would appear that

the bubble has burst.

It's just like someone

climbing up Mount Everest,

reaching the top and

saying, "Bugger that,

"I'm not going to climb

down, I'm going to jump off!"

I mean, it's exactly like that

- it's absolutely extraordinary.

But in the context of the market,

Bordeaux has been around for a long time

and I don't think what's

happening right now

is a bad thing.

I actually think it's good

for the fine wine industry

and it's good for Bordeaux,

because everyone's

going to have to rethink

about where the future lies

and why they're doing

what they're doing.

I think Bordeaux is very lucky

because it went through so many crises

and it is like the phoenix.

There's a permanent

resurrection after the crisis.

The resilience of

Bordeaux is quite amazing.

When you realize that this

place has been able to survive

such a disease as phylloxera,

revolutions, wars -

and look where we are now.

Each time we say it's the end,

and then Bordeaux comes

back and is successful again,

and, of course, we

exaggerate again our prices

and we collapse.

But nevertheless there is that

fantastic ability of Bordeaux

to overcome the crisis.

Will it last forever?

I mean, in 1,000 years?

I don't know.

But honestly, with

experience on my side,

I don't see any region which

will compete with Bordeaux.

Bordeaux will remain the reference.

Bordeaux will be the reference

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