Jean-Christophe Meyrou
Managing Director Vignobles K
After completing his studies and a successful career abroad and in Bordeaux (Vignobles Péré-Vergé and Adams), Jean-Christophe Meyrou joined Vignobles K in 2014, joining Peter Kwok. He then took charge of all the group’s properties, including Château Haut-Brisson, Château Tour Saint-Christophe, Château La Patache and Enclos de Viaud. Under his leadership, Vignobles K launched the little Pomerol nugget, Enclos Tourmaline, and in 2018 Vignobles Kwok acquired Château Bellefont-Belcier, a Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé.
Presentation
Gerda: What are the main challenges you personally face in your job?
Jean Christophe Meyrou: My job is a diversified one. When you manage estates, you have to manage technical aspects, distribution and communication. But beyond all that, you manage the estate’s economy. In my case, I manage estates belonging to investors, in particular the Kwok family from Hong Kong. The main challenge is to make investments that make financial sense. I don’t get involved in ‘diva’ estates, i.e. estates that are not financially viable. That’s the most difficult part. Today, when we buy estates, we pay a certain price per hectare. Then there’s the reality of the wine market, which is not always in line with the price of land. We need to create a business that makes sense, that is self-financing, so that we don’t constantly have to ask the owners for money. That’s my main challenge.
We are committed in all our domains to increasing the power of our brands. Obviously, there is the question of price, which we are gradually increasing. I’ve never been into the ‘Bordeaux yo-yo’ in terms of price. We’re trying to raise prices gently and steadily, so as not to shock the market with sudden increases of +30% followed by decreases of -20%. So it’s a question of adding value to our products while keeping production costs under control. Our aim is to produce a first wine, not a second wine. This requires vines in good condition, which is why we are constantly restructuring our estates. When we arrived at Château Tour Saint Christophe in 2011, we pulled up half the vines. It was costly but necessary. It’s better to have young, quality vines than old vines that don’t fulfil their role. Today, we produce around 95,000 bottles of first wine from 22 hectares, which makes economic sense. Financial sustainability is linked to the quantity produced, the quality of the wine, cost control and financial contributions from ancillary activities.
As far as these ancillary activities are concerned, we are involved in consultancy in Italy and France. We are also developing brands such as ‘Right Bank’ and ‘Axiome’, wines that enable us to generate sales while opening up new markets that we don’t necessarily have access to with Château Bellefont Belcier or Château Tour Saint Christophe. All this contributes to a sustainable business and also allows us to get out of our ‘comfort zone’.
La marque Vignobles K Today & Tommorrow
G: What positioning(s) would you like to see for your brand(s)?
JCM: At Tour Saint Christophe, we’ve reached a form of maturity. Distribution is solid, and despite a complicated context, we had a great Primeurs 2023 campaign. The estate was classified in 2020. The brand will probably reach a plateau for a while, as we need to consolidate. It’s essential to continue working on the brand so that it can continue to be distributed throughout the world, which requires considerable work in the field.
Bellefont Belcier, on the other hand, is a much younger brand in our portfolio. It has not yet reached this level of maturity. We are in the process of building the brand with the aim of global distribution. This is extremely important. None of our bottles are sold in supermarkets; they are only available in wine shops and restaurants. The quality and success of distribution are crucial to building and spreading this brand. Once distribution and sales are assured, we control our distribution and prices.
The aim at Les vignobles K is to maintain a family spirit with production on a human scale. At Bellefont Belcier, we produce around 50,000 bottles, which must be distributed in as many countries as possible, with a focus on quality. I’m well aware that the market isn’t waiting for us. Bellefont Belcier has been a ‘sleeping beauty’ for many years. Our mission is to finally wake up this estate, which is surrounded by Premiers Crus and has nothing to envy other estates in terms of terroir. We’re lucky to have prestigious neighbours like Larcis Ducasse, Tertre Roteboeuf and even Troplong Mondot. It’s just a question of time, because wine is a long-term product. We’re fortunate to be in a good position and to benefit from a good image. The market has confidence in us. This work is also continuing in Pomerol with l’Enclos Tourmaline, a tiny jewel situated on the plateau. Our neighbours are Le Pin and Trotanoy. We’re incredibly lucky to be here. To establish our brands and make them strong, we need stability in terms of both quality and distribution. This reassures the market. The aim is to establish Bellefont Belcier and maintain the flow of business for the other brands. Our ambition, of course, is to present Bellefont Belcier as a Premier Grand Cru Classé in a few years’ time. We have the terroir for it. Will we have the necessary pedigree or the price? It may be more complicated. But we did it for Tour Saint Christophe when it was classified and we’ll try to do the same for Bellefont Belcier.
G: Which of your recent achievements would you like to share with customers?
JCM: We’ve invested heavily in wine tourism, which is a major part of our business. We welcome around 10,000 people a year. They are all small groups of 2 to 6 people, each accompanied by a guide. We don’t mix visitors. Today, I have a wine tourism team of 6 full-time staff, which is a considerable number. This activity represents 20% of our sales, and my aim is to increase it to 30%.
G: Was it your experience in Napa Valley that made wine tourism so important to you?
JCM: Yes, of course. We have the same high standards in terms of service. This activity allows us to sell wine at an attractive price, because we have to be more expensive than our wine merchant partners. We can remove the sentence: On Wine Searcher, it is essential to appear at the top of the search results. The wines sold through wine tourism enable us to finance this activity. It’s been 10 years since we launched this initiative, and I can see that we are creating thousands of ‘brand ambassadors’ around the world. Today, this activity is bearing fruit and making a major contribution to the success of our brands on the export market. There are even members of my team who visit private customers to present our estates in a convivial way, a bit like ‘Tupperware’ meetings. These same consumers then go to wine merchants in their own countries and ask, ‘Do you have Bellefont Belcier?
G: What future projects are you working on at the moment (technical, marketing or sales) ?
JCM: We’re working on launching two brands. It’s a big job in terms of marketing, distribution and technical aspects. We’ve launched the ‘Right Bank’ brand, which is a compilation of all our appellations: Saint-Émilion, Côtes de Castillon, Lalande-de-Pomerol and Pomerol. I work with my wine merchant partners to ensure protected distribution. We have also created a brand with Châteauneuf, called Axiome. It’s a blend of 50% Saint-Émilion and 50% Châteauneuf, made from some very fine plots in La Crau, in Châteauneuf, belonging to the Usseglio family, as well as our best plots on the limestone of Saint-Émilion. We’ve designed a wine that combines the seductive side of the Rhône, particularly on the nose, with a straight, austere finish, in the good sense of the word, typical of Saint-Émilion, which brings elegance and grace to the wine. We’re launching it on the market with the same notion of protected distribution, because production is limited to around 6,000 bottles.
G: Why did you decide to expand your offer with these two branded wines?
JCM: It allows us to reach new customers and shows a kind of open-mindedness. With Right Bank, we’re presenting a Bordeaux that’s easy to drink and extremely drinkable. I’m a great believer in that. These are also Bordeaux wines that don’t need to be kept for 30 years; they are quality wines that offer immediate pleasure. As for Axiome, it’s a much more personal project. I’ve always been in love with the Rhône Valley, and here in Bordeaux we have a history with this region. So there was a kind of logic in blending the wines of Bordeaux with those of the Rhône. It was a pure pleasure to create this wine, and the feedback from the market and the press has been excellent. It also allows us to give a new image to the K vineyards, while giving us a real sense of freedom. It also allows my technical teams to get out of their comfort zone. I’m lucky enough to have Emmanuelle Fulchi on my team. She has been making wine at Angélus for 25 years. Like me, when she goes to Châteauneuf to do the blending, her eyes light up. This new brand also serves that purpose. Right Bank will be available at a consumer price of around €25, with a target production of 30,000 to 50,000 bottles. Axiome will be around €70, with a much more limited volume.
The Trade
G: What are your priorities in terms of business development?
JCM: We have a well-established presence in North America, with this market accounting for around 25% of our sales. The priority is to maintain this position. I don’t want to exceed this percentage, because it’s a volatile market, very dependent on the vintage. When we have a slightly more complicated vintage, demand falls sharply. If 15% of this market disappears, it’s not very reassuring. Paradoxically, we have very little presence in China, contrary to what many people might think. Developing this market is a priority for us. It’s certainly a complicated context at the moment, but it’s essential to invest there now to prepare for the future. Distribution in China is maturing, and now is the time to position ourselves for tomorrow.
We also have a limited presence in certain traditional markets, such as the UK, where we need to expand. We have partners who are opening doors for us on the African market, which is fantastic. We also need to develop other markets in Asia, such as Singapore and Vietnam, as well as Brazil. The aim is not to put all our eggs in one basket and to diversify our sales as much as possible. The advantage we have is that our wines sell well and we have little stock. We don’t put any pressure on the market, which means we can start slowly with new distributors.
G: Your aim is to sell 65% of your production as Primeurs each year. How did the 2023 campaign go?
JCM: For the 2023 Primeur campaign, we’re well below our target. But given the current market, it’s still a good campaign. For Tour Saint Christophe, we sold 55% of production, which shows the brand’s resilience in a difficult context. For the other brands, Bellefont Belcier and Tourmaline, we sold just under 45%. That’s not too bad given the current situation. It’s good to see that our wines are present on the market. Merchants have taken few, if any, risks this year, so the wines we’ve bought are actually being sold. That’s encouraging, despite the unfavourable climate.
G: Do you still have confidence in the Primeurs system?
JCM: I think the crisis is cyclical rather than structural. Several markets have broken down at the same time, which is unprecedented. Short-term interest rates are high, and many wine merchants and estates were counting on these rates to finance their stocks. Rates are likely to come down, perhaps not to 1% but to around 3%, which will give the market some oxygen and get it going again. I think the US market will pick up again after the elections. When the US picks up, Europe generally follows.
G: Are you planning any commercial releases or marketing in the near future?
JCM: After the Primeurs period, we have a commercial list of wines available for delivery to La Place de Bordeaux, which is 20% more expensive than the Primeurs prices. We’re sticking to it. We still have some stock of Bellefont Belcier 2021, which I think is extraordinary. I love presenting the 2020 and 2021 vintages blind. People are often wrong in their assessments. I’m particularly fond of the 2021, which is a much-maligned vintage. Yet we’ve made some superb wines. The vines at Bellefont Belcier did not freeze. Bordeaux tends to over-communicate about vintages like 2022, which is certainly very good, but it’s not the vintage of the century for me. The same applies when you open certain 2017s, which may be better than the 2016s. The same is true of 2001 compared to 2000. The only vintage that was really complicated was 2013. But in Bordeaux, perception is often binary, and unfortunately there’s no longer any middle ground when it comes to communicating about our vintages.
G: Could you say a few words about the 2024 vintage?
JCM: We use organic viticulture at Tourmaline, Tour Saint Christophe and Bellefont Belcier. Last year, we had a lot of downy mildew, but we held up well, with yields that were just right for us, at 40-42 hl/ha. This year, the mildew pressure is even greater. We had to fight very early on, as soon as the leaves came out. As we’re organic, we have to keep at it. The spring was very wet, and there were a few weeks when we had to carry out up to three treatments. In the end, for these three wines, we finished the season with yields of between 35 and 40 hl/ha. It’s not glorious, but in the context we have to be satisfied with it. We opted for late harvests when necessary to achieve the right degree of ripeness, even if this meant losing a little production volume, but still ensuring good quality potential.
The market today and tomorrow
G: Vignobles K is part of La Place de Bordeaux, which sometimes struggles to find the right balance. Is an open distribution system always an advantage for you?
JCM: The advantage for the estate is to ensure maximum distribution of the wine in as many countries as possible in as little time as possible. The disadvantage arises if the estate doesn’t control prices and the négociant doesn’t take a consistent margin; in that case, prices will be undercut on all markets. Today, prices are so transparent that you can immediately see a price drop. The La Place de Bordeaux system is here to stay, and it’s extremely important, especially for small estates like ours. We have no excuse for not carrying out price checks on the market. We have to make sure that our merchants take their margins. In our case, if the whole chain takes its margin, the consumer buys a wine that is good, well rated and remains reasonably priced. In the United States, Bellefont Belcier retails for around $40. You have to spend at least $100 to find a nice Napa wine. Our wines, like Tour Saint Christophe, retail at around $35, offering good value for money. And the whole sector benefits financially. What we’re seeing, and this is very important for us, is that prices are gradually rising. These are not speculative wines. We’re light years ahead of the big brands on the Left Bank or the Right Bank. What I’ve noticed is that the professionals who bought Tour Saint Christophe 2018 or 2019 en Primeur now have resale prices that are 50 to 60% higher than the purchase prices en Primeur. So it was a wise purchase.
G: You told me that the owner and the négociant have to go to the market. Could you explain this further?
JCM: In recent years, négociants and estates have relied on the power of the press ratings. This has worked well, but it’s working less and less well, perhaps because there are too many notes and too many wines. The press is starting to rate wines outside the Crus Classés circuit, in more modest appellations that produce very good wines, such as the Castillon appellation. Today, journalists do not hesitate to award scores equivalent to those of the Crus Classés. The power of these scores is fading; you now need scores above 96 to have an impact on the market. We need to get back to basics: take our little suitcase, go to the customer, have them taste the wines and sell them. This applies both to the staff at the negociant and to the estate, which has to be on the ground. Obviously, it’s not easy; you need time and money to do it. But it’s crucial to do it, otherwise an open market like La Place de Bordeaux will have no future.
It’s also important to stop telling consumers to buy wine and keep it for 30 years. Our wines are designed with this in mind, but it’s also important to emphasise that they can be drunk young and offer pleasure.
G: We’ve noticed an interest from the market in wines produced outside Bordeaux coming to La Place in recent years. What do you think of this trend?
JCM: I know that opinions are very divided. I’ve worked a lot in Argentina and a little in South Africa. Today, Vignobles K also produces wine in Italy. The arrival of wines from outside Bordeaux in Bordeaux is not a problem in itself. The only problem is that there are perhaps too many wines arriving at the same time, without necessarily a demand for them. Another problem is that some wines are arriving at La Place in an ‘open market’, whereas previously they had protected markets. This creates a real antagonism and a risk that the ‘grey market’ will develop for these wines. However, I think the arrival of these wines is rather healthy. For a wine merchant, having the world’s great wines in its range helps to attract new customers. It should not be seen as competition, unless the wine merchant turns away from Bordeaux wines. As far as the estates are concerned, we can also see that the négociants make better margins with wines from outside Bordeaux than with Bordeaux wines, so we need to ask ourselves the right questions.
G: That’s the last straw, isn’t it?
JCM: Yes, that’s why it’s essential that we don’t allow the wine merchants to sell our wines at low margins, otherwise there’s no point in them selling wines like mine. That’s why I’m fighting for price controls on the markets. In short, it’s crucial that power is not concentrated on one side or the other. There has to be a balance on La Place de Bordeaux. The current situation could be a blessing in disguise, as it could enable us to start afresh.
Favorite bottle of Jean-Christophe Meyrou
G: If you had just one favorite bottle ?
The next one I’m going to open…! Otherwise… a Léoville Las Cases 1975 opened recently with friends.” If you need anything else, just let me know!
Gerda BEZIADE has an incredible passion for wine, and possesses a perfect knowledge of Bordeaux acquired within prestigious wine merchants for 25 years. Gerda joins Roland Coiffe & Associés in order to bring you, through “Inside La PLACE” more information about the estate we sell.