BERNARD MAGREZ, ONE VINEYARD AT A TIME

What should a Bordeaux wine magnate do in a recession? Tom Harrow talks to Bernard Magrez, an innovator among oenophiles, about his strategies for dusting off the aloof region ...

Special to MORE INTELLIGENT LIFE

Bernard Magrez, a Billionaire wine magnate, is a force to be reckoned with. He has a score of Bordeaux properties, including his flagship Graves estate Chateau Pape Clement (2005: 98/100 Wine Advocate), La Tour Carnet (the oldest estate in the Medoc, once owned by Montaigne's family) and Ch. Fombrauge, the largest estate in St Emilion. He has wineries in Spain, the Americas (his boutique Napa estate "Magrez Napa" sells for $200), Morocco and Japan, and has recently acquired a winery in Europe's most exciting emerging wine region, Portugal's Douro Valley.

With his aristocratic demeanour and sober, expensive dress, Magrez seems to be the archetype of a traditional Bordeaux estate owner. Yet he is considered a great innovator to his supporters, and an iconoclast to his detractors; a man who has ploughed his own furrow by both. He is also a demanding employer with a commanding physical presence--a workaholic and fitness fanatic with a seemingly relentless drive to improve and expand his wine empire.

In the elegant drawing room of Ch. Pape Clement, beneath a large oil painting of the Pope, Magrez talked to Tom Harrow about his vision for the future of Bordeaux, a region that had long rested on its laurels, only to now be overtaken by more marketing-savvy New World wineries.

MIL: The Bordeaux region is now facing some serious problems: the market has been affected by the global recession; international competition has never been greater; and the region is generally seen as aloof. On top of that, Bordeaux now has two unexciting recent vintages to sell. What's the way forward?

Bernard Magrez: Focusing on quality, price point and marketing strategy, and being able to invest in your estates. Competition from Spain and Italy requires Bordeaux to raise its game. I think Chateaux should focus their exports into two or three countries--you can't market effectively everywhere at once--and then concentrate on putting their wines in front of consumers: communication by degustation.

MIL: Your picture is on the back of every bottle you produce from all over the world. This is an unusual practice, certainly controversial for Bordeaux. Is there more to it than vanity?

BM: It's a deliberate strategy for humanising the wines. My photograph on the back of the bottles creates a more personal bond between consumer and producer, we develop trust, the wine becomes more accessible to the consumer. In the same way we also put the cepage (varietal blend and percentages) on the back of the label, something which is similarly unique for the quality wines of Bordeaux.

MIL: You have very recently acquired a new vineyard, number 36, in Portugal, yes?

BM: Yes--'Pinyau' estate in the north of the Douro. Its a very up-and-coming area, we have seven hectares only planted with local grape varieties, Tinta Roriz/Nacional and Franca. It has excellent soil composition and a great microclimate, and we think it has the potential be in the top five still reds produced in the area, offering a ‘36th’ answer for the wine lover.

MIL: With somewhere as far off the beaten track as Portugal under your belt, would you consider looking for vineyard sites that are barely on the international wine radar–like in Britain?

BM: Why not? If I could find the right viticulteur.

MIL: Which of your wines are the most popular in Britan and America?

BM: In the UK we have a lot of success with the Roussillon wines, Mon Seuil Reve in particular: as the UK has always appreciated value and become increasingly open to up-and-coming wine regions. In the US our key Medoc estates Pape Clement and La Tour Carnet do very well--classic Bordeaux will always be a big market in the States.

MIL: You use the same consultant (Michel Rolland) at all your estates. This lays you open to the charge of homogeneity--that in creating a brand you're sacrificing individuality.

BM: Each of our 35 estates creates a different emotion, one of 35 different answers for the wine enthusiast. The Magrez brand guarantees quality, consistency, transparency, not homogeneity. If we employ similar techniques in our vineyards around the world it is because they ensure we make the best wine.

MIL: Why did you choose Michel Rolland?

BM: There are many reasons to employ le Roi de Semblage (the King of the Blend)--a man who can recall from memory the exact composition, parcel by parcel of vines, of past vintages of our wines. He is used by many of the greatest wineries around the world, including nine out of ten of the top wineries in Napa. Of course we have been working with him for very many years, long before his involvement with many of his newer clients. Personality is important, and he brings that to all the wines in whose creation he is involved.

There are also similarities in our approach to wine: we are modernisers and forward-looking, where traditionally Bordeaux looks to the past. We have elicited some negative responses and so we share a certain bond through such criticism.

MIL: Might there be a parallel between you two and the iconolastic Pope Clement V, to whom the estate is dedicated?

BM: (Raises eyebrow, then ignores question.) From a technical perspective [Rolland and I] share many of the same opinions. For example we both believe leaving the harvest as late as possible makes the best wine. It can be a gamble, but where we get great ripeness, pips and fruit, we make wines which are rich and appealing to the modern palate.

MIL: What are your thoughts on the use of modern technology and chemical treatments in making wine?

BM: Techniques like micro-oxygenation and wood infusions are not applicable to any of our wines. Nor do we reduce alcohol or acidify, as this artificially transforms what each terroir fundamentally gives to the wine. We are happy to keep with tradition when it works--we use a horse for some of the ploughing at Pape Clement as it avoids compacting the earth unnecessarily and naturally fertilizes the vineyard. Ultimately Mr Rolland sells his expertise, not gadgets.

MIL: And now you are launching your own tours to Bordeaux to promote your wines. What was the impetus behind this?

BM: I had a visit 20 years ago to Napa that showed how it should be done, and then another visit three years ago to Marquez de Riscal in Rioja, where I was similarly impressed. Both of these experiences underpinned this idea that here was a possibility to understand the wines better, an idea that Bordeaux had not embraced in the same way.

We want to concentrate on the luxury end of the market, and offer an unparalleled experience for private groups of wine lovers. We can fly you over to Bordeaux by private jet, offer transport between the estates by chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce or by helicopter in order to see all the famous estates. Packages include accommodation at the Chateaux, private dinners with the region's top chefs and wine-blending sessions with leading oenologists. You can even try the wines from other famous estates--Petrus, Mouton Rothschild. It's all about offering the client the experience they want.

MIL: This all sounds splendidly luxurious. Given the recession will there be a more affordable option?

BM: We can adapt a package to fit almost any budget. With the range of estates and experiences we can offer there are so many options, we can organise something for everyone.

MIL: So I could forego the Rolls and bicycle between estates, swim across the Gironde rather than take the chopper and drink half bottles only?

BM: (laughs) You could but you'll find we are actually priced very competitively with wine tours to other regions--Italy and California for example. We just offer a more complete experience for the money.

TASTING NOTES OF MAGREZ WINES:

La Croix Pérenne Cuvee d'Exception 2005
Very concentrated, lots of vanilla, Kirsch and Black forest gateaux backed by toasty oak and damp clay on the nose. Very juicy and mouth-filling, powerful and impressively persistent in its finish, full of fruits of the forest and marzipan. A body-builder--all sinew and flesh, muscle-bound at 15%, and probably the best Napa Merlot from the region's right bank.

Ch Fombrauge 2005
Silky with coiled power, fresher, higher-toned fruit than the '03 but richer and more supple than '04. Some fine-grained, brooding tannins wrap the wine up currently but the mid-palate flavours, meaty and spicy like a succulent peppered lamb chop slathered in red-currant jelly, balance the structure and promise much after mid-term cellaring.

Ch Pape Clement 2006
Youthful aromas of fresh plums, loganberries, nuts and earth after rain; toasty and smoky to taste, focussed, linear, with nervous tannins; a thoroughbred and rather uptight at present, juice and chalk competing on the aristocratic finish.

Bernard Magrez Napa 2004 (Cabernet Sauvignon)
Heady aromas of toffee, sugared almonds and pastry alongside lots of dark chocolate and blackcurrant jam assail the nostrils. Palate is dominated by sweet blackcurrant fruit with spicy balsamic and coffee notes. This wine offers surprising purity and a lengthy finish to its impressive body; a babe of a wine, unashamedly built for pleasure.

Picture credit: filtran (via Flickr)

(Tom Harrow is a wine consultant through amfwine.com and founder of WineChap, a restaurant winelist review service. The author of a regular column for Urban Junkies, his last piece for More Intelligent Life was about what to drink when a love affair is over.)