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BORDEAUX
– MARKETS –
joining owners Jean-Louis and Olivia Alloin in 2014. The
vision here is clearly to produce high-end wines – yields
average at around 35 hl/hectare – and the chateau has
unfailingly been headed north since the outset. Exports
account for 60% of sales and are bound for markets
painstakingly built up through widespread travel and
tastings across the globe. Liorit has put a considerable
amount of energy into achieving this and has travelled to
regions such as Florida, Japan and Morocco. Obviously,
the pandemic has had an impact, with the compound
effect of the closure of restaurants, the Trump tax and the
American election period. But resignation is not part of
the company’s genetic make-up and sales have already
picked up.
Nationwide, the Château has explored new avenues.
Examples include ‘wine merchant dating’ by video
where samples are sent out for tasting, and use of social
media, with new information put online every week.
There are so many things that could be said about the
range which, at the very least, is highly unique with
wines such as a single varietal Malbec and a Riesling,
along with amphora maturation to round out tannins.
“All of a sudden, we had time on our hands and were
able to sit down and think about different marketing
strategies”, explains Liorit. “Direct-to-consumer sales
are one of the alternatives and we are therefore going
to open a shop at the chateau, where we will sell
the estate’s products and provide a tasting tour. So
finally, wine enthusiasts from far and wide will get the
opportunity to discover this sensitively designed setting
with its unique vineyard sites.
Château Petit Val in Saint-Emilion
Cédric Coubris,
the Gironde representative
of the Independent
Winegrowers’ Federation
INDEPENDENT WINEGROWERS OFFER A
UNITED FRONT
Cédric Coubris represents the Gironde branch of
independent winegrowers, with its 550 members, rising
to 7,800 nationwide. He explains the challenges his
members have faced, and the solutions the organisation
has aimed to provide. Even before Covid or the Trump
taxes loomed on the horizon, Bordeaux bashing across
France – often fuelled by environmental issues – was
the first situation that had to be tackled. Whenever plant
protection products are mentioned in the media, he
Independent winegrowers’ engage personally with their clients
AUTUMN 2021 GILBERT & GAILLARD - THE FRENCH EXPERTS ON WINE 15