Personalities

Philippe Casteja: «Merchants have to move all the time»
«Vinnaya Karta» №8 (78) September 2006

Philippe Casteja is an influential Bordeaux negociant and owner of Borie-Manoux, an independent family company.

He owns a dozen of important vineyards in various parts of Bordeaux including Chateau Batailley in Pauillac, Domaine de l’Eglise in Pomerol and Chateau Trottevieille in St Emilion.

– Is it difficult to be a wine merchant in Bordeaux these days?

– It depends on the area you are working in. Basically, the wine merchants do the same job. The difference is in the range. The situation is a bit difficult for wine merchants who sell mostly basic products. For those who are working on more elaborated wines, it’s better.

– What does it mean — elaborated wines?

– They are the wines of the upper class — from better crus bourgeois to crus classes.

– So rich chateaux continue to thrive and small estates struggle to survive?

– It’s a difficult question. It is sure that the top wines are doing well on the market, but you must remember and understand that they work a lot. To make a fine wine one needs a lot of investment and work, it is a real battle. Of course, one sees the results.

– Where is it easier to sell wines at the moment — in France or abroad?

– It’s not easy anywhere. There is a lot of competition on basic products. But as soon as you get out of the way of the basic wine, if your product is a bit different, if it has quality, then you have no problem.

– You have several vineyards and sell your own wines and those of other estates. What is more profitable from the commercial point of view?

–You mustn’t put the question like this. It costs money to be a wine merchant as we buy wines, carry stocks and so on. As a vineyard grower we also have to carry stocks, but we also own the land and the buildings. The investment into a wine estate is very-very large. One cannot say that this area is more profitable than the other. Because if you just take the profit itself, you can say there is more profit here than on the other side. You must always relate your results to the capital investment. Estate is a very large capital investment.
Also in agriculture yields always vary — some years you have a small yield, some years you have larger so your profits go up and down. And prices depend on the quality of the vintage. So, 2005 is a beautiful year, everybody is very enthusiastic, but if you come on an average year, it’s different.

– How do you work with wines of less successful vintages?

– It depends on the estates. For example, last year it was difficult to sell wines en primeur for some estates, and for a number it was quite easy. If you are classified among 50 best wines of the vintage, you are able to sell with no problem.

– What happens if you have surplus after the en primeur campaign?

– Then we sell in bottles because some countries don’t buy en primeur. In France, for example, a large amount is bought ready in bottle.

– What is the ratio between sales of en primeur and ready wines?

– Depends on the estates. Small estates of top quality like Trottevieille in St Emilion, for example, sell almost everything en primeur. Generally, en primeur share is about 60 to 75 percent. We leave some wine for the markets where they don’t buy en primeur at all. They are Russia, China, Japan and many others. Primeur concerns the USA, UK, Belgium and some German buyers.

– Let’s return to the question of merchants and winegrowers. Isn’t it more sensible nowadays to have two separate businesses — one for selling wine and another — for winemaking?

– The structure of Borie-Manoux group unites both, and this is the way it works. Two our wines are sold on the open market.

– Are there any new trends in the work of the wine merchants?

– In the old days there were quite a lot of exclusivities, and the trend up to now is to be sold on the open market. Nowadays I would say that 95% of the wine of classified growths is sold on the open market. I don’t think there are any other new trends today.

– If you summarise your philosophy...

– As a grower, as a winemaker I believe that we have to work a lot on quality and carry on efforts to be at the top of the competition and to carry on being recognized for making the best wines available in that sense. This is my philosophy, this is the way I am working and this is what I believe in.
As a wine merchant, I have to sell what the consumer wants so we have to have products that match the consumer taste. We move a lot. I believe that if the merchants don’t move, they are in bad shape. We have to be very open to the new markets, to the new customers. We must educate them but also try to fulfill their requirements.