Few wine regions inspire as much affection – and frustration- as Bordeaux’s Grands Crus Classés. When the classified growths go on tour, importers swarm the tastings. Importers still flock to tastings, but market enthusiasm now stalls at the point of sale, where soft demand and swollen inventories have pushed some labels into outright price inversion.
That tension deepened when the 2022 en primeur campaign raised prices against market sentiment, a move widely seen as “kicking the hornet’s nest.” Although the next two campaigns softened, the bruised confidence never quite healed.
To understand what is really happening in China and across Asia, Vino Joy News sat down with François-Xavier Maroteaux of Château Branaire-Ducru, who became president of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB) in February.
Maroteaux brings an unusual dual identity to the role: a château owner in Saint-Julien with a background in finance and previous experience at LVMH. His perspective is both traditional and sharply commercial, pragmatic yet surprisingly progressive. He challenged the widespread belief that classified growths are invariably expensive and suggested Bordeaux needs to rethink how wine is presented—especially to younger consumers. At one point, he even championed draft wine as a way of making Bordeaux more accessible.
A Shifting Asian Landscape
During the conversation, Maroteaux shared the latest Bordeaux export data. For wines above €22.5 in export value – the grand cru classe wines – the United States remained the largest market in the year to the end of 2024, accounting for 22% of sales. Greater China—including mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau—ranked second at 18%, followed by the United Kingdom at 14%. Mainland China alone is now comparable in scale to the UK. Switzerland, Germany, Japan, Belgium, Spain, Singapore and Taiwan followed at varying distances.
When looking at overall 2025 exports for the first eight months of the year, the United States again led the pack with double-digit growth. The UK held steady in second place, while Hong Kong slipped and Switzerland moved slightly ahead. Mainland China, however, posted the steepest fall, dropping 35% as shipments of the relatively pricey 2022 vintage landed.
“When a vintage is very expensive, Asia is usually not the biggest buyer,” Maroteaux noted. “Purchasing power comes mainly from Europe and the US.” He added that once final numbers are tallied for the higher-priced segment, the decline in China and Hong Kong should look more moderate.
Despite Hong Kong’s downturn in 2025, he considers the city irreplaceable as Bordeaux’s Asian bridgehead, thanks to its zero-tariff regime and long-held status as a redistribution hub. He recalled a meeting in Bordeaux with a Hong Kong official who urged producers to “use Hong Kong as a platform.” The city’s recent reduction in spirits tax, he said, shows its intention to revitalise the drinks trade. “We will continue to invest in Hong Kong. It remains our best gateway to Southeast Asia.”
Beyond China: The US Rebounds, Asia Faces Headwinds
Maroteaux noted that US demand has improved since tariffs stabilised at 15%, eliminating months of uncertainty. Japan and South Korea, however, continue to wrestle with unfavourable exchange rates.
He also highlighted India as a market with long-term potential. Eight classified growths recently visited the country to test opportunities. “India is still so small it doesn’t even appear in the statistics,” he said. “But even if one day only 0.2% of the population becomes wine consumers, that would already be huge.” France and India are now in discussions about tariff reductions, a process he admitted could be lengthy. Current duties stand at 150 percent; even a cut to 80 or 60 percent would make a meaningful difference.
Reframing En Primeur
The en primeur system has been criticised for raising prices during a global downturn, which many see as disconnected from economic reality. Maroteaux offered a contrasting interpretation, pointing to structural declines in production, as a main cause for price hike. In Saint-Julien, comparing the five-year periods of 2016–2020 and 2021–2025, average output fell by 15 to 20%, according to him, adding that some appellations saw drops of up to 25%.
He contrasted the 2022 vintage—often described as overpriced—with another legendary, high-priced year: 2010. Average yields in 2010 were around 45 hectolitres per hectare; in 2022, they were closer to 35. “If you look at this dimension, I am confident 2022 will appreciate earlier than 2010,” he said. Still, he pointed out that Bordeaux had already lowered prices for the 2023 and 2024 campaigns to acknowledge market realities.
The current downturn, he argued, is shaped by a rare convergence of political uncertainty, economic weakness, exchange-rate volatility and rapidly rising interest rates. “We have never seen so many clouds at once,” he said. “When things are going well, everyone is happy. When things go down, nobody is happy.”
He also offered a pointed message to wine investors: “If you buy wine not to drink but for financial gain, you must accept the risk that prices may fall. That is simply the nature of the market.”
Looking ahead, he expects the 2025 vintage to be excellent, with prices rising from 2024’s lower base—but rising in a way he described as “normal” and good value.
Rethinking How People Drink Wine
When asked why younger consumers appear less interested in wine, Maroteaux insisted the issue is not a lack of curiosity but a lack of opportunity. “Whenever young people actually have wine in front of them, they are willing to drink it,” he said. “The barrier has simply been too high.”
He sees two major hurdles: the industry’s own culture of knowledge intimidation—where many newcomers feel they must learn appellations and varietals before enjoying a glass—and the uncompetitive pricing of wine in bars compared with beer.
His proposed solution is striking in its simplicity: wine on tap.
“We must make wine easier to serve in bars, like beer,” he said. Pilot tests abroad have shown promise, and he recalled a French music festival where draft wine booths sold out almost immediately. Entry-level draft wines, he believes, could act as a gateway. Once young drinkers discover they enjoy wine, they will naturally explore further and eventually trade up.
A More Approachable Bordeaux
To align with today’s preference for wines that are simpler and ready to drink, Bordeaux itself has evolved. Many consumers still assume that Bordeaux wines taste and age as they did decades ago, but Maroteaux said that is no longer true. The 2022 vintage is not only one of the greatest in recent history but also surprisingly approachable today. Meanwhile, 2010 often requires more than 15 years to show its best, and 2016 is only now entering its ideal window.
“I am perfectly happy to drink 2022 today,” he said. “But you can also keep it for your children or grandchildren. They will enjoy it just as we enjoy the 1982, the 1961 or the 1947.”
What he sees as Bordeaux’s new advantage is choice. Drinkers can enjoy wines earlier than before without losing ageing potential. And in a world where houses are no longer built with cellars, that flexibility matters. “People want to buy a bottle and drink it immediately,” he said. “We now make that possible—without taking away the ability to age the wines for decades.”
UGCB’s Roadmap
Looking ahead, Maroteaux is focused on two priorities. The first is consistency: remaining present in key markets through tastings, tours and educational outreach. “Recovery is cyclical,” he said. “If we continue to show up, the cycle will turn.”
The second is reinvention. He wants the UGCB to explore new ways of engaging consumers, especially younger ones. Current roadshows, he acknowledged, rely too heavily on professionals and have limited reach.
The UGCB has begun experimenting with restaurant and bar partnerships in France and is preparing to host “Banquet Bordelais” events in Hong Kong and other cities. These gatherings invite the public to bring their own bottles, while the UGCB contributes large-format wines to encourage communal tasting and conversation.
The organisation is also working more closely with sommelier schools to correct persistent misconceptions, particularly the idea that classified growths are uniformly expensive. “Compared with Burgundy or top American wines, Bordeaux is not expensive at all,” he said. “We need to keep explaining this.”
Education, he added, should also extend to Bordeaux’s negociant system. “Because of this system, if you are in Hong Kong and want a bottle of Latour 1989 direct from the château within two days, you can get it. Few regions can offer that. We need to help people understand the advantages of this model.”
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