Bordeaux wines and Yantai celebrate ’entente cordiale’

he two wines selected to illustrate the collaboration between France and China were chosen by the chairman of the French sommelier organisation Fabrice Sommier – they were the top 2019 Longyu Estate Long 12 Cabernet-Sauvignon label by Shandong pioneer Changyu, which was established in the province in 1892, and the 2018 Château Phélan Ségur Saint-Estèphe. The Chinese wine is sold in its home country for around 1,000 RMB (or €129), whilst the Bordeaux label retails for around €60 on French e-commerce websites. Proceeds from the charity sale in China via Changyu’s extensive distribution network are expected to be high as only 60 box sets are available.

Changyu is China’s largest wine company, boasting 20,000 hectares under vine. It is the world’s second-largest brand worth 1.1 billion euros, just behind Moët et Chandon, valued at 1.3 billion in 2023. Changyu also leads the way for Chinese brandies, with its Koyo brand, and owns France’s Roullet-Fransac Cognac.

Proceeds from the sale of the 60 ‘When Yantai Meets Bordeaux’ box sets will be donated to the NGO Ecotree to fund the planting of trees in France. It remains to be seen whether the initiative will be enough to patch up the trade issues revolving around Europe’s brandy exports to China and Chinese electric cars in Europe…