Inside La Place – Never Give Up

Bernard MAGREZ: Fine, but 2021 is not an exceptional vintage. However, we must not forget, what is good today, was very good 15 years ago! We have made a lot of progress both in the vines and in the cellar, and it is all over the world.
By volume, we will make 15% less at Pape Clement but it is very different from one Château to another. At Fombrauge we will do the same amount as last year and at Tour Carnet the harvest will also be smaller.

Gerda: What positioning (s) do you want for your brand (s)?

Bernard MAGREZ: I want Pape Clément to be considered as an “Icon” and a wine going beyond the exceptional. We have to create desirability, which goes through quality as exceptional as possible.

G: How do your wines stand out, and are unique?

BM: Pape Clément has an atypical terroir for the Pessac Léognan appellation. There is clay predominance to the east of the vineyard. This clay is suitable for the production of great white and Merlot and brings depth and flexibility to our first wine.

G: Which of your recent accomplishments would you like to share with your customers?

BM: To make exceptional wine, we are constantly looking for development: technical but also commercial. Wine is 50% exceptional in its quality and 50% in the selection of its distributors. You have to know the markets and the consumers. Knowing what the consumer wants is key! We have 32 sales representatives in the field who are based in 8 countries: Hong Kong, China, Japan, Belgium, Switzerland, England, Germany and the USA. They are the ones who consume the most Bordeaux wines. We have recently hired them to know our consumers perfectly and to be as close as possible to them.

G: What future project are you currently working on?

BM: I created an incubator at Château Le Sartre. There are 40 Startups. Each one of them has an economic and technical project to go even further in improving the quality of the wine. We work together a lot, it’s exciting.

G: How far along are your property(ies) in the “green transition”?

BM: Today a company does not get very far if it does not care about the environment. For 6 years, we have been working with drones, which detect mildew very early. This allows us to process immediately and to reduce the number of treatments: this is Haute-Couture. But, we also have many other experiments. Research is one of our passion.

We are in HVE 3 (High Environmental Value) which is the most demanding today.

In addition to its eco-friendly vision, my business is built on social values such as “Helping the Other” which is reflected in my foundation, the Bernard Magrez Cultural Institute which supports contemporary artists and musicians.

Bernard MAGREZ: The estates have to create a real partnership with wine merchants on one hand and on the other hand, with their customers, in France and abroad.
The doors of our vineyards are open all the time, without interruption. We must create positive emotions for our visitors. We have to push the brand and communicate: without it, we cannot succeed today. This is why our strong symbol, the Bernard Magrez keys, are present on all our wines and all our communication media, including digital, towards which we are moving very strongly.

G: Do you plan for market or new releases in the near future?

BM: My strategy is to sell a large part of the harvest En-Primeur. The Château does not hold back the stock to increase the price by speculating. I want to avoid as much as possible that there are price differences every year. It’s a question of respect for our wine-loving friends. We have been respecting this commitment for a long time, which is why our retail customers and wine lovers are loyal. The market is leading and I follow it with respect for the consumer. In life, you need to have a strategy to be successful. I am not saying mine is the best one…

Our foreign competitors, like Opus One, have understood this strategy well. They increase the price smoothly.

G: Which vintages should the market be interested in? and why?

BM: To all…!

G: What sales support materials are available to distributors to promote your wines?

Website and Social Networks

Bernard MAGREZ: Pape Clément 2016, quite simply because I love this vintage.