Eastern promise: Domaines Barons de Rothschild’s new wine project

Having been at the forefront of the premium wine industry for years with their Chateau Lafite Rothschild estate, it seems only fitting that one of the world’s most eagerly awaited wine projects has emerged from the Domaines Barons de Rothschild (DBR).

In a recent interview with wine magazine Decanter, DBR’s CEO and president, Christophe Salin revealed the wine estate expects to release its first bottles of Chinese wines by autumn 2018.

“The release will mark a grand debut out of one of the most hotly anticipated wine projects in recent years and coincide with a 10-year milestone,” says the magazine.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Not unlike their wines themselves, it is a work of considerable complexity. Instead of planting vineyards in China’s more famous wine region Ningxia - home to 250 wine companies - Domaines chose to plant their flag near the city of Penglai on the Shangdong Peninsula in eastern China.

“We decided against Ningxia because the very cold winters mean you have to bury the vines, which weakens them and brings their life span down to around 15 years,” Salin said. “We want the complexity of older vines and so chose a region where we can hope to have 40 year old vines one day”.

China is on track to become the world’s second-largest wine consumer in value behind the US by 2020, according to the latest statistics out of the International Wine & Spirit Research group.

Luxurious Lafite

While the company continues to break new ground in China, the spirit of Lafite - so named after the wine estate in the south of France owned by members of the Rothschild family since the 19th century - lives on.

“It’s a beautiful place, about love, about sharing, a place about happiness and peace. It’s rather extraordinary. And I’ve always wondered... is it because the wines are so extraordinary that it is so peaceful?” Baron Eric de Rothschild told Wine Spectator magazine in 2015.

“Lafite has an extraordinary effect on people,” de Rothschild continued, recounting a tale of a dinner where actress Greta Garbo and a famous unnamed British trade union leader bonded. “They began to listen to each other, to understand each other. Peace conferences should all begin with everyone drinking a half-bottle of Lafite!”

Now DBR hopes to share this effect more widely. For the first time at the exclusive Mayfair hotel 45 Park Lane, a wine dinner will showcase some of DBR’s finest wines with a meal and setting to match.

Hosted by Nicholas Rouchon, export director for the company, the evening will feature a four-course dinner accompanied by a pallet of specially paired wines from the Rothschild family. Guests will learn about the winery’s history and gain an insight into their upcoming projects including their work in China.

The event will also present guests with a wide range of fine wines not only from the iconic estate’s prestigious library of vintages, but from many of DBR’s other partnerships worldwide.

The Barons de Rothschild wine dinner, in partnership with Waddedson wines, will be held on Wednesday 15 November and is priced at £230 per person. The evening will begin at 7.30pm with a champagne and canapés reception, followed by a four-course dinner with wine pairings, finishing with coffee and petit fours.

Reservations: +44 020 7493 4554 or restaurants.45L@dorchestercollection.com. Further information at dorchestercollection.com