1977: The beginning of the blind date with the daughter of the king

Chapter 575 Mediterranean Consortium!
"So, Bordeaux and Burgundy are the main production areas of your French wine?"

"Bordeaux is Lafite? Burgundy is Romanee-Conti, right?"

In the car, Li Changhe was chatting with Pierre Cardin and talked about French red wine.

"Vic, you are being rather one-sided."

“Lafite and Romanee-Conti are high-quality wineries in Bordeaux and Burgundy, but they don’t represent these two places, just these two!”

"Take Bordeaux as an example. There are five first-class wineries selected by France, including Lafite, Latour, Margaux, Mouton, and Haut-Brion."

“Each of these five wineries is a top estate in Porto and a treasure among French wines.”

“So, Lafite is not the only wine that can represent Bordeaux.”

Pierre Cardin explained the science to Li Changhe.

Li Changhe smiled and nodded: "I see."

For the Chinese people in later generations, Lafite is the most famous. After all, the 82 Lafite was once synonymous with top luxury in the online literary world, until its status was later replaced by the 82 Sprite.

"By the way, I found the winery information you asked me to look up for you!"

Pierre Cardin asked Li Changhe again at this time.

Li Changhe nodded: "Oh? Which one?"

“In Bordeaux, the most likely candidate right now is Château Latour.”

“According to the information I have inquired about, only Château Latour is currently in the hands of outsiders.”

“Château Latour is currently owned by the British group Bosson. If you want to buy it, it may be the only winery that is likely to be for sale.”

Pierre Cardin said to Li Changhe.

"The Bosen Group?"

He had never heard of this company, but it was obvious that it was not a world-class company.

But the British company sounds promising.

Because Li Changhe knew that the economy in the UK has been very bad in recent years, and the overall environment is not good. It is possible that the operation of the Bosen Group will be mediocre!
After arriving in Bordeaux, Li Changhe got out of the car.

"Catherine!"

"Boss, what do you want?"

Catherine hurried over and asked softly.

"Help me investigate the information of the British Bosen Group and find out what they do. It would be best if you could check their operating conditions."

"Then you can talk to Mr. Wei and ask him to help me contact the Bosen Group to see if they want to sell Chateau Latour."

"By the way, I will use my personal name to purchase it, not the Bosak Group."

Li Changhe finally reminded Catherine.

The money in Bosak's account is limited. It is already stretched to the limit to acquire Cartier and Vacheron Constantin, and it is impossible to continue unlimited purchases.

So Li Changhe prefers to use his own money to buy it.

"Okay, I'll find someone to investigate right away!"

After giving Catherine instructions, Li Changhe looked around.

Well, a very rural place.

The environment in front of me is not in the city, but a countryside. Except for the ancient castle standing in the distance, it is actually not much different from the new rural areas in China in later generations.

Of course, there are still differences between rural China in the 1980s and rural France today.

"This is Pauillac, the most famous wine village in Bordeaux. Three of the five first-class wineries in Bordeaux are in this village."

“Lafite, Latour, and Haut-Brion are all in this village.”

"Besides that, there is Chateau Mouton Rothschild, which is located in the northwest of the village, right next to Chateau Lafite."

"We are going to Chateau Lafite today!"

Pierre Cardin led the way and explained science to Li Changhe.

Li Changhe listened carefully and looked around.

Soon, the group arrived at an ancient castle.

This is the famous Chateau Lafite.

"Welcome, Mr. Pierre Cardin."

At the entrance of the castle, a middle-aged man in a suit and tie had been waiting there for a long time. When he saw Pierre Cardin, he immediately came up to greet him enthusiastically.

"Good morning, Monsieur Pierre."

"This is my good friend, Mr. Victor, from the Eastern shipping tycoon family!"

"Vic, this is Mr. Pierre, the current president of the Lafite Group!"

Pierre Cardin introduced the two to each other at this time.

Li Changhe originally thought that he could meet people from the Rothschild family here, but he didn't.

But think about it, the other party is just a holder and does not need to be responsible for operations, so he may not show up.

"Good morning, Monsieur Pierre!"

Li Changhe took the initiative to extend his hand.

At this time, Pierre also enthusiastically shook Li Changhe's hand: "Hello, Mr. Victor, I have heard of your name for a long time."

Well, in fact, it was only about two days ago that he learned some simple information about this oriental tycoon, but to him, it was just polite talk!
"Let's go in first!"

Afterwards, Pierre led a group of people into Château Lafite, a centuries-old feudal castle.

As soon as he came in, Li Changhe immediately felt a coolness. After all, these ancient castles were all stone buildings, but the space inside was very large.

Inside the castle, there are various decorations and various red wine murals. Many of them are the former products of Lafite Winery and are hung on the walls as decorations.

"Both of you, please take a seat!"

"Come, try this year's new wine, just out of the cellar."

Sitting on both sides of the long dining table, Pierre immediately had this year's new products brought over.

Li Changhe actually doesn't know much about wine, but before coming here, he did learn some knowledge.

"How's it going, you two?"

"The wine is full-bodied and fragrant. In addition to violets, are almonds also added to the brewing this time?"

Pierre Cardin knows a lot about red wine, so he gave a more professional answer.

Pierre smiled and nodded: "Yes, we added some almond fermentation this time. Mr. Cardin's level of appreciation is indeed very high."

"What do you think, Mr. Victor?"

Pierre asked Li Changhe again at this time.

Li Changhe smiled and said, "Mr. Pierre, I don't have as professional a description as Per. After all, I haven't tasted red wine very often."

“But there is no doubt that when I drank Lafite for the first time, I did feel a different taste.”

“Maybe I can’t use very beautiful words to describe it, but it does make me feel happy at the moment.”

“I think this is the charm of Lafite!”

"Hahahaha, Mr. Victor, in fact, in my opinion, your evaluation is better than Mr. Pierre Cardin's evaluation."

"Because Mr. Cardin is evaluating from the perspective of a wine connoisseur, while you, Mr. Victor, are evaluating from the perspective of a new customer."

“For us, your evaluation is the motivation for us to make wine, because the customer’s taste is the most authentic feedback!”

Pierre said praisingly at this moment.

Li Changhe couldn't help but give the other person a thumbs up. Listen to his answer, he is indeed in the wine business.

"Thank you Mr. Pierre for your compliment. I can't help but agree with your words."

"To be honest, I already have an urge to buy some for my collection."

Li Changhe took the opportunity to speak.

“Of course, we are now selling new wine that is about to be opened, Mr. Victor can certainly buy it.”

"But I don't know if Mr. Cardin has told Mr. Victor that our authentic Lafite must be sold with some secondary products."

Pierre said seriously at this time.

When it comes to business, there's no room for giggles.

These wealthy people are the clients of their winery, and such clients must of course be taken seriously.

"I know!"

For a winery like Lafite, it is impossible for all grapes to be of the same quality. Therefore, different qualities of raw materials will produce different grades of wine, hence the concept of authentic and secondary products.

The authentic product is the signature of their winery, while the secondary product is usually a lower-level wine.

The wineries in Bordeaux basically sell the genuine products together with the secondary products.

"Then I wonder how much Mr. Victor wants to buy?"

Pierre asked seriously at this time.

"I want to know how much Mr. Pierre can sell it for now?"

"Theoretically, I can eat all the remaining red wine from your winery."

"Not only that, I also want to reserve some of the wines from Chateau Lafite for the next two years. What do you think?"

Li Changhe said with a smile at this moment.

"this?"

Pierre was stunned when he heard about Li Changhe's generosity.

"Are you serious, Mr. Victor?"

"Are you also a wine merchant?"

Pierre found it hard to believe that anyone other than a wine merchant would purchase so much wine.

After all, although the annual output of authentic wine from Chateau Lafite is limited, the output of by-products is indeed very large, which is a huge amount of goods when calculated.

“I am not a wine merchant, but I recognize the value of Lafite.”

“I have a retail group in Asia, so I will keep the genuine Lafite for myself, and I can sell the secondary wines to my retail group.”

"I would like to reach a three-year cooperation with Lafite, including this year and the next two years of en primeur. What do you think, Mr. Pierre?"

Li Changhe was too lazy to waste time and directly stated his needs.

Pierre was of course overjoyed when he saw this.

There is no winery that is unwilling to sell wine.

"Of course, no problem. Then we will use the price of this year's new wine as a benchmark. I can make the decision and sell 20% of the futures wine share to Mr. Victor."

“This is the maximum authority I have.”

"You know, we still have a lot of wine merchants that we work with, and they also expect a large share."

Pierre said seriously.

In addition, it is impossible for them to sell all the wines as expected. Every year, the share of futures released by major wineries is around 50%.

It is really good that Li Changhe can get 20% of this.

"I want to know, this 20% is approximately how many boxes?"

Li Changhe asked curiously at this time.

Pierre patiently answered, "Our winery produces about 15000 to 25000 cases of genuine wine each year, but it varies depending on the year."

"For example, this year's production is about 23,000 boxes, 50% of which have been pre-sold. If Mr. Victor purchases 20%, this year will be 4,600 boxes of genuine products."

"The data in the future will also fluctuate around this figure, unless the output increases significantly in a certain year, it is possible to exceed this figure."

Li Changhe nodded, then did some calculations in his mind.

These French wineries usually pack 12 bottles in a box, which means that his purchase this time is about bottles.

This number is indeed enough for him personally, but compared with the entire Asia region, it is actually not much.

But fortunately, when he acquires Chateau Latour, he can advertise it in Asia and turn the 82 Lafite into the 82 Gemini, Lafite + Latour.

After all, the two wineries are in the same village. It is nonsense to say that there is a difference in quality. Moreover, they are both first-class wineries, and neither is much worse than the other. What they lack is nothing more than advertising.

"No problem, just follow this ratio. Mr. Pierre can have someone prepare the contract. My secretarial team is right outside, and we can sign the agreement at any time!"

Li Changhe said with a smile.

When Pierre saw this, he was immediately overjoyed.

This is really a big customer. Not only did it sell 20% of this year's new wine, but it also booked 20% of sales in the next two years. This is really a surprise.

"Mr. Victor, do you have a retail group in Asia? I wonder which one it is? Perhaps we can reach more cooperation."

After Pierre gave instructions to his assistant, he asked Li Changhe curiously.

"Dairy's International, does Mr. Pierre know about it?"

Li Changhe said with a smile.

"Dairy International?"

"Is it the one in Hong Kong Island?"

"I remember that it was a property of the Jardine Matheson Group, wasn't it?"

Pierre knew the name of Dairy Farm International.

Because many large companies in Hong Kong Island will make various purchases in Europe, just like Hutchison Whampoa in the past few years.

“It’s my property now.”

Li Changhe said with a smile.

Pierre looked at the other person in surprise. So this person was the one who took over Dairy Farm International from Jardine Matheson?
But for him, this is not important. What is important is that the other party seems to really have a retail group in his hands.

"Mr. Victor, are you interested in further cooperation?"

"In addition to Lafite, our group also has many other wines, including brandy, champagne and other types of wine."

“I think we can work together further.”

Hearing this, Li Changhe smiled and nodded: "I am very inclined to continue cooperating with your group, but this involves the procurement of the entire company, and we need to send a team to connect with your company."

“Although Dairy Farm International is one of my businesses, it has its own independent operations team, so I can mention it to the management after I go back, but the specific cooperation needs to be negotiated between the two parties!”

Li Changhe doesn't mind letting his company cooperate with Lafite Group, not only because of the reputation of Lafite Group, but more importantly, Li Changhe values ​​the Luo family behind Lafite!

There are major financial groups in the United States, and in Europe, there is actually also a united underground financial group.

Although the countries that restored their independence after World War II turned many companies into state-owned enterprises, some private enterprises continued to exist, coupled with the invasion of American financial forces.

In order to protect itself and to unite, a European Jewish consortium re-emerged in this multi-party melee.

This consortium is the Mediterranean Consortium.

The core of the Mediterranean Consortium is actually the Rothschild family and the Warburg family that survived after World War II, a secret consortium connecting the United States, Europe and Israel.

And Chateau Lafite is the entry point for Li Changhe to contact the Luo family!
(End of this chapter)