5 Questions for
Christophe Reboul Salze Interview by Gary Hewitt, DipWSET, CWE, FWS, Sommelier Photo courtesy of Christophe Reboul Salze
Christophe Reboul Salze is ideally suited to comment on the recent past, present, and future of the Bordeaux wine region. A career veteran of the Bordeaux wine scene, Christophe founded The Wine Merchant, a highly successful négociant firm that deals primarily in Bordeaux’s classified growths. He sold this firm to new interests in 2017, and rather than retire, Christophe refocussed his attention on his own winegrowing properties in Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux: Château Gigault, Château Belle Coline, and Château Les Grands Marechaux.
1
What are the most significant changes in Bordeaux wine that you have seen over your career? I made my career in the world of Grands Crus Classés of Bordeaux, and to me, it seems important to differentiate this world from that of the petits châteaux. In fact, the difference between the Grands Crus Classés and the petit châteaux has not stopped growing over the last 50 years. In the 1950s and 60s, a First Growth sold at 12 times the price of a table wine; now it’s about 400 times! Also, in the 1980s, Bordeaux produced 7 million hectolitres and sold it all. The majority of the Grands Crus Classés did not make a second wine, and the vineyards were not in perfect
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condition. This did not prevent the grands terroirs from producing marvellous bottles in the great years such as ’82, ’85, ’86, ’89 and ’90. Now, the production is approximately 5 million hectolitres, of which approximately 4 million are sold. The viticulture and winemaking techniques have improved a lot, and the wines of Bordeaux have never been better. Nevertheless, the very top wines are now part of the world of luxury. This world is popular with négociants and “global agents” because it generates a large turnover. In contrast, the world of petits vins no longer interests the négociants who concentrate on the grands vins and adapt their inventories accordingly.
2
What do you see as strengths (and weaknesses?) of Bordeaux in the competitive wine world of today? Apart from the quality of many terroirs, one of the strengths of Bordeaux is its capacity to distribute wines around the globe. Major foreign winegrowers recognize this capacity. By offering increasingly large allocations of their wines to the Bordeaux négociants, the Rothschilds’ joint ventures Almaviva and Opus One led the way to a great number of
