Airlines love Bordeaux wine. Therefore, logically, for many châteaux, being part of a flying wine cellar is a big deal. It guarantees a hefty check in exchange for tens of thousands of bottles sold en primeur – that is, several years before they go on sale.
Château Cantemerle in Macau in south-west France has embarked on a massive project. Within the next two years, this Médoc grand cru classé, owned by SMABTP, an insurance company for construction companies, will have the necessary production facilities to support its rapid expansion. It produced 300,000 bottles in 2022, then 450,000 in 2023, for an estate covering almost 100 hectares.
Cantemerle is leaving no stone unturned to expand its distribution. Laure Canu, the domaine's director general (as well as that of Grand Corbin in Saint-Emilion), has responded to several tenders from airlines through merchants and brokers in the Bordeaux market. "We had to seize our chance to get on board," she said. The 2016 vintage of Cantemerle's first wine will be served to Air France business class customers in 2025. "It's been aged for eight years. This airline isn't joking around with its customers!" said Canu.
A few kilometers from Cantemerle, Château de Malleret is also banking on the aviation industry. For Bordeaux native Aymar du Vivier, the ambassador of the Médoc bourgeois estate and cousin of the owners, the question is even "existential".
"We had to go for it, no matter the cost," he said. Malleret, in fact, has come a long way. In 2013, when Paul Bordes took over, the estate was in disrepair. Extensive renovations were then begun, involving restoring the château and its 16th-century towers, constructing a new cellar with ochre concrete vats and adopting new approaches in the vineyard. While some plots might not be "up to par" for crafting the estate's first wine, they could yield "other excellent cuvées," as second wines, Bordes explained. It's just a question of selling them.
Malleret, whose wines are described as "racy and contemporary," tried its luck with Air France. Out of six proposed vintages, four were selected by the airline, from the 2019 and 2020 vintages. "A few months ago, 2019 experienced a bit of a downturn. But like all great vintages, after a lull, it picked up again," said Bordes. The château will supply up to 70,000 bottles out of the 220,000 produced.
Many champagne houses also count airlines among their major clients – bubbles are a must. Those producing large volumes are guaranteed a place on board, such as the LVMH group's brands (Moët & Chandon, Dom Pérignon, Veuve Clicquot and Ruinart), as well as Nicolas Feuillatte, Pannier and, more recently, Telmont. However, competition between airlines also brings brands with smaller volumes but extensive prestige to business class. For these smaller brands, airplanes are a springboard: Signing targeted partnerships enables them to make their name known to a global clientele and, in turn, boost exports on land.
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