Hundreds of châteaux in Bordeaux have been ordered to withdraw their wines amid claims that they are being sold under illegal labels issued by non-existent vineyards.
The hunt for “phantom châteaux” began when French fraud squad officials threatened producers who broke the rules of wine labelling. Drinkers around the world are thought to be misled by Bordeaux producers who market the same wine under different names.
“We realised that there was a problem when wine tourism started to develop,” said Jacques Bertrand, chairman of the F?d?ration des Grands Vins de Bordeaux, which is running the campaign.
“People turned up to visit the château of the wine they had bought back home. But when they got here, they realised it didn’t exist.
According to the regional newspaper Sud Ouest, Bordeaux’s 6,400 producers market a total of 12,600 wines that use the term “château”. But 1,200 have been withdrawn and hundreds more are likely to meet the same fate, according to Mr Bertrand.
Advertisement
“When you have two labels for the same wine, that is cheating,” he said.
A spokeswoman for the Comit? Interprofessionel des Vins de Bordeaux, the body that represents the region’s producers and merchants, said: “There was a lot of confusion and it was important to clear it all up.”
Under French law, a vineyard that respects traditional production methods can legally claim to be a château (manor, in English) even if there is not one on the land.
A 1993 decree said that most vineyards were allowed to market only one château-bottled wine each, although a small number have the right to sell a second in exceptional circumstances. However, many of Bordeaux’s producers flout the law with wines referring to a fictitious château.
Antoine Vialard, Emeritus Professor of Wine Law at Montesquieu University in Bordeaux, said: “The number of châteaux multiplied from the 1970s onwards. You’d get the same vineyard selling its wine under five, six or seven names of châteaux which were complete figments of the imagination.”
Advertisement
A wine industry source said: “The reason for the multiplication of châteaux is commercial. Merchants and supermarkets all want to have an exclusive deal to sell a particular wine. That way you get one supermarket selling château A and another selling château B, but it’s exactly the same thing.”
Sud Ouestcited the example of Château Falfas, a prestigious vineyard in the Côtes du Bourg area of Bordeaux owned by John Cochran, a former New York lawyer. He told the paper that he marketed his wine as Château de Beychade in Germany and Châteaux de Riveaux in Japan. He said that the federation had written asking him to withdraw these brands. But he said that he was within his rights because the Beychade and the Riveaux were former owners of the 500-year-old estate.“We haven’t invented anything. These names exist in the history of the place,” he said.
Lord of the manor
— A château is formally a manor house but refers to any wine-producing estate in Bordeaux
— Bordeaux’s best wines are listed in a classification ordered in 1855 by Napoleon III
Advertisement
— Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Haut Brion, Château Mouton Rothschild, Château Margaux and Château Latour were given the top rating of Premier Cru Class? in this classification
— Bordeaux châteaux are situated in 57 different wine-producing zones and sell more than 700 million bottles a year
— Exports were worth €1.28 billion last year
Source: Times Database