The end of the golden age: Chinese capital has withdrawn from Bordeaux wineries

(AFP, Saint-Martin-du-Pui, France, 25th) After more than ten years of buying craze, many Chinese investors have sold their Bordeaux wineries Originally, they were looking forward to the elegant life of France and good returns in the domestic market. , but left the market due to China’s capital controls and other reasons.

Capital controls in China, weak demand for wine in Asia and underestimation of the running costs of French chateaux are all factors that have driven away once-enthusiastic Chinese buyers.

As early as 2009, Chateau Latour Laguens became the first Bordeaux winery to be acquired by a Chinese company. The Chinese company was convinced that the winery’s wine could bring significant profits in the Chinese domestic market.

More than 200 other wineries in south-west France have also been acquired.

However, many wineries have recently lost their Chinese owners.

In May, French authorities seized nine wineries acquired by Chinese tycoon Qu Naijie, founder of Haichang Group, in the 2010s on the grounds that he was using Chinese government funds to launder money.

In 2022, wineries named after Chinese owners such as Golden Rabbit, Royal Rabbit, Oryx and Antelope Tibet will disappear from the Bordeaux map. When SGV Wines Hong Kong resold the four estates to French investors, the estates reverted to their original names.

Bordeaux winery real estate expert Li Lijuan explained that many other wineries are also being sold at low prices. He said Beijing’s decision to impose tight controls on funding was a blow to a market already awash with Bordeaux wines. “Chinese investors can no longer invest their money abroad because their money is trapped in China,” Li Lijuan said.