Magrez and Robuchon form French tour de force

Bernard Magrez last week hosted the London stage of his international collaboration with chef Joël Robuchon.

The two Michelin-starred L’Atelier du Joël Robuchon in Covent Garden was the scene of an exclusive lunch and vertical tasting of Magrez’s flagship property, Château Pâpe Clément, together with his other two Grand Cru Classé Bordeaux estates, Château Fombrauge and La Tour Carnet.

The partnership marks a show of French solidarity and the mutual pursuit of gastronomic excellence between Magrez, who owns 35 wine estates around the world, and Robuchon, with 16 restaurants and a total of 25 Michelin stars worldwide.

Since 2009, Robuchon has listed a selection of Magrez’s top Bordeaux wines, including the 1995 Pâpe Clément and 2005 Fombrauge, in all his restaurants, available both by the glass and bottle.

During the lunch, Magrez outlined the vision for his broad portfolio of premium-focused wines, explaining: “We’re doing a lot of listening to consumers and marketing research to discover what consumers want; it’s a new strategy.

“In life, to be different to someone else, you need to come up with a unique concept. I believe truly that this strategy is a winning strategy: as long as you listen to the consumer, you will not get it wrong.”

Also in attendance at the lunch, Robuchon highlighted the shared values behind this partnership. “M. Magrez is a true friend and his sincerity really reflects in the wine,” he said, adding: “We are very happy to represent France throughout the world.”

Referring to the Michelin star awarded last month to his Monaco restaurant, Robuchon observed: “Winning a Michelin star is about good food, but also about good wine.”

Having launched this initiative at Robuchon’s Paris restaurant earlier in the year, Magrez is due to host similar events at a number of the chef’s other restaurants, including Tokyo, Macao and New York.

Gabriel Savage, 09.03.2010