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When a respected firm purchased an established Burgundy producer and négociant( a French term for a merchant who buys grapes or juice, then blends and ages them under its own label), they never expected to uncover fraud. But some months after the venerable Bollinger from Champagne took ownership of the Burgundy house Chanson in late 1999, they discovered they’ d been had.
Bollinger, the unlucky purchaser, is a good player. The firm has worked on ethical and quality standards in their home of Champagne. When Bollinger decided to expand, Chanson’ s Burgundy house looked like it had great potential. Chanson was a company that held some great property in the storied Burgundy vineyards. And like other large firms in the region, they also bought grapes and wine from smaller producers to offer regional or village wines. It all looked good.
Sylvia Jansen, Sommelier( ISG, CMS), CSW
But in late 2000, Etienne Bizot, who headed Bollinger’ s Burgundy project, realized that all their Burgundy was not all Burgundy. Some of it— in fact, a few hundred thousand bottles of the 6 million on hand— were Burgundy that had been illegally blended with the robust red Alicante from Languedoc in the south of France. Legally, those bottles ought to have been labelled as simple vin de table. Anything else is fraud— a criminal offence.
( The scandal was not the first, nor would it be the last. In early 2010 another scandal spilled out that a large American company had purchased Limoux, France Pinot Noir that turned out to be blended Merlot and Shiraz. Another outrage!)
Bollinger’ s Bizot reported the fraud to the authorities. Charges were laid against the former owners of Chanson, François and Philippe Marion.( In the ensuing months even the whistleblower was charged, since authorities said it took him too long to report.) But the defense was an attack that started something like“ What’ s the problem?” They claimed it doesn’ t really matter. Everybody does it. If that was not enough, they added it made for better wine.
The French authority that governs the laws had a fit in court. It does matter. The rules are clear, they said. The boundaries of Burgundy are well defined. They do not include the south of France. Red Burgundy must be 100 per cent Pinot Noir. If your label says Premier Cru, the wine must be 100 per cent from that particular vineyard, and most producers follow those rules. Throwing in some Alicante from somewhere else to make a rounder, bulked-up wine is like putting your athlete on steroids and thinking it’ s just fine.
When it all shook out, the court soundly convicted the former owners and their winemaker. The whistle-blower was acquitted. Bollinger has since rid itself of the scandal, cleaned up the production, and are moving Chanson up the quality ladder with 100 per cent Burgundy wine.
The very existence of French wine laws— in fact, the existence of wine laws everywhere— stems from the fact that people have cheated other people in the past. When the stakes are high, when demand is greater than supply, when we think no one is watching, and when we think everyone is doing it, the temptation is great. As consumers, we rely on the watchdogs and the honest people to do it right.
It’ s a particular thrill for any wine lover to stand at the stone gate of an historic Burgundy vineyard, mugging for the camera. There’ s something real and authentic about being on that little spot on Earth and knowing the wine from that little vineyard. Wine lovers want that experience to be an honest expression of terroir: the lay of the land, the sun and rain on the vines, all gathered up, nurtured carefully, and then poured into a glass. The shock of doing it any other way is, well, criminal.
So here’ s to you, honestly. �
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