There is no doubting the most revered name in mainland wine circles, especially among the Bordeaux-loving, money-splurging, face-seeking nouveau riche. Any entrepreneur wanting to give an ostentatious display of his wealth at a banquet simply has to order a bottle of Chateau Lafite, preferably a sought-after vintage that is priced at a lucky 88,888 yuan (HK$109,000).
In a few years' time, less affluent restaurant customers will be able to order a genuine bottle of wine made by the same producer, Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite), for considerably less. The drawback? It will be a China-made wine, albeit one involving the mighty Bordeaux vineyard and a veteran French winemaker.
DBR (Lafite) took the joint-venture plunge a few years ago, teaming up with state investment giant Citic to establish a ch?teau in the coastal province of Shandong. It is something of a gamble, but the boardroom rationale no doubt took into account the finite amount of Lafite in the world, the value of the name in China and the strong likelihood of the mainland market continuing to expand rapidly.
There is, of course, a danger of diluting the brand's reputation for exclusivity, but if the end result is anything like the quality of winemaker Gerard Collin's earlier efforts - his previous job was making China's first international-level wines at Grace Vineyard - it is likely to fly off the shelves.
DBR (Lafite) is far from the only big-name player eyeing up the lucrative rewards that will come from producing a top-class wine on the mainland. The terroir undoubtedly exists, as small winemakers such as Silver Heights in Ningxia province have shown, but it is impossible to play catch-up the way the nation has done with manufacturing and infrastructure; vines take time to mature and the overall cost, even with cheap labour, is significant.
There is also the inherent risk of becoming involved in a mainland joint venture, where the foreign investor is at a disadvantage from knowing little, or nothing, about the Chinese system, which at the best of times is opaque. Language difficulties, disagreements over business practices and cultural clashes are almost inevitable.