After months of negotiations with the 61 Chateaux listed in the 1855 classifications, auction house Christie’s has revealed a list of Chinese names for each of the estates.
The move is intended to make wine more accessible to the Chinese market; one of the reasons for Lafite’s early dominance of the burgeoning Chinese market, many experts said, was the fact that the name tripped easily off the Chinese speaker’s tongue.
Christie’s staff have been hard-pressed to find translations that were acceptable to the Chateaux but have succeeded with only Cos d’Estournel refusing to take a Chinese name.
A poster will be released for the 2012 En Primeur week containing a list of all the Chinese names agreed upon. The posters will be distributed to Chinese clients and journalist to ensure consistency throughout the week. It is expected the new translations will become standard throughout the whole of the Chinese speaking world.
Christie’s intend to provide the same service for Sauternes, the Bordeaux right bank and Burgundy in the future.