Classified Bordeaux lacks ‘real distribution’

Only a tiny amount of grand cru classé Bordeaux has “real distribution” in the UK, according to Charles Sichel, export director of Maison Sichel.

Charles Sichel is export director of Maison Sichel, a family-owned négociant and grower

“All of the grand cru classés are sold in England, but very few have a real distribution,” he said during a discussion with db in London last month concerning his work establishing Château Olivier in the UK over the last three years.

Continuing, he said that most of Bordeaux’s classified estates are only “visible through brokering”, and noted that many of the UK’s traders don’t even hold any stock.

With Château Olivier however, following significant investment in the property’s winemaking facilities and, more recently, vineyards too, Sichel has, since the start of 2013, worked on building a lasting physical presence for Olivier in the UK by approaching independent retailers and restaurants with a range of wines – including older vintages direct from the château – to feature on store shelves, online, or within wine lists.

“We’ve been talking to the independent trade all over the UK, getting them to rediscover Château Olivier… it has a name in the UK, but little notoriety, and that’s what we had to build.

“To be honest, it has taken longer than we thought it would, but, going from zero 3 years ago, we now have 12 good distributors reordering from us.”

Continuing he said, “We are in Davy’s, Tanners, and Harrods for example, and in restaurants; all places where there are people who will get behind Olivier and push it, because they understand the message – for example, [Davy’s chairman] James Davy has been to the château.

“But, he added, “this sort of in-depth marketing takes time; it’s long and drawn out.”

Describing the approach as “going back to basics”, he stated, critically of some in Bordeaux, “nobody realises today what it takes to create real distribution”.

Charles Sichel has been building a lasting physical presence for Château Olivier in the UK since the start of 2013

According to Sichel this is because the region’s system of disseminating wines worldwide through ‘La Place de Bordeaux’ requires the négociant to handle distribution on behalf of the châteaux, so the brand-owner is left unaware of the work required to establish a wine in the market.

Nevertheless, he described this system as “fragile”.

“The system [of distributing wines through La Place] today performs, but it is always shifting, and the balance is fragile: all you need are a few less fashionable consecutive vintages and the whole thing can fall down, leaving the châteaux with nothing to go on,” he said.

However, when it comes to Sichel’s approach working to establish the visibility of Château Olivier in one market through a few key accounts, he said that the “foundations are really solid”.

This he knows due to his approach with Château Angludet, a Cru Bourgeois Bordeaux property that has been owned by the Sichel family since 1961.

“What we are doing with Olivier is what we’ve done over the past 50 years with Angludet, and this now has better distribution in the UK than any of the grands crus classés – the first growths included – in terms of solidity,” he concluded.