中國資本入侵法國波爾多，酒莊更名惹爭議

ARVEYRES, France — The rabbit — the “Imperial Rabbit” — looks out quietly from the vineyard’s sign, sandwiched between the familiar words ‘‘Great Wine of Bordeaux.’’

法國阿爾韋爾——兔子——還是只“御兔”——從葡萄園的標志上靜靜地向外看著，兔子兩邊是“波爾多卓越葡萄酒”這些熟悉的字眼。

But there are no rabbits in this vineyard, imperial or otherwise. Nor are there any “Golden Rabbits” or “Tibetan Antelopes” or even “Grand Antelopes” in the vineyards not far away.

不過，不管是御兔還是普通兔子，這座葡萄園里都沒有。離這兒不遠的其他葡萄園里也沒有“金兔”、“藏羚羊”，或者什么“大羚羊”。

That has not stopped the new Chinese owner in one of France’s most fabled wine regions from naming his newly acquired chateaus after them — to more than a little consternation among tradition-bound French.

但這沒能阻止法國最著名葡萄酒區(qū)之一的中國新主人用這些東西來命名他們新近收購的酒莊，讓熱衷于傳統(tǒng)的法國人著實有點驚愕。

“Up until now, the rabbit has not enjoyed a great reputation in the Bordeaux vineyards,’’ noted Le Résistant, the local newspaper in the regional capital, Libourne. ‘‘The trend has been, rather, to eradicate it.”

“直到現(xiàn)在，兔子在波爾多葡萄園里一直不享有好名聲，”地區(qū)首府利布爾納的當?shù)貓蠹垺兜挚箞蟆?Le Résistant)寫道。“其實，這里的趨向是要消滅它。”

There is perhaps no place more synonymous with France and its tradition of fine wines than Bordeaux. The style of its long-aging, leathery blends of cabernet sauvignon and merlot, to name just two, have inspired American imitators and are sought after the world over, often at exorbitant prices.

恐怕沒有什么地方像波爾多這樣，可以作為法國及其美酒傳統(tǒng)的代名詞。這里的赤霞珠與梅洛——僅舉其中兩例——的長期陳放和皮革味的融混引來了美國人的效仿，并在世界各地廣受歡迎，往往價格不菲。

Yet despite the protestations when it comes to the Chinese, this story of invasion is not necessarily a new one for the region on the southwest coast of France.

然而，盡管對中國人的做法頗有微詞，這種入侵在法國西南海岸這片地區(qū)卻并不新鮮。

For centuries, Bordeaux has adapted to foreign money and tastes, with a flexibility that belies the purists’ contention that tradition is inviolable.

幾百年來，波爾多曾幾度歸順于外國資本與口味，這種多變性有違傳統(tǒng)不可侵犯的純粹主義主張。

Bordeaux accommodated the English when it was under their domination in the 12th and 13th centuries, as well as the Dutch who drained its marshes in the 17th century.

12至13世紀英國統(tǒng)治期間，波爾多迎合了英國人;它對17世紀抽干了這里的沼澤的荷蘭人也是如此。

It opened its cellars to the Germans during the Nazi occupation, and more recently it shifted its taste to accommodate the preferences of the California-influenced American wine critic Robert Parker.

納粹占領(lǐng)期間，它的酒窖開放給了德國人;不久前則轉(zhuǎn)變口味，開始迎合受加州影響的美國紅酒評論家羅伯特·帕克(Robert Parker)的偏好。

Bordeaux goes where the money is. And the money is now with the Chinese.

波爾多跟著金主走。如今金主是中國人。

“It’s a good thing there are Chinese investors, most definitely. Because there are too many producers here, and there’s too much wine,’’ said Nan Hu, the director general of the Clos des Quatre Vents, the sumptuous property of a state-owned energy and real estate conglomerate from China. ‘‘So, we are important to Bordeaux.”

“中國投資人來是件好事，絕對如此。因為這里有太多生產(chǎn)商，釀了太多酒，”四方莊園(Clos des Quatre Vents)總裁胡楠說，該莊園是中國某國有能源、地產(chǎn)集團公司的奢華財產(chǎn)。“因此，我們對波爾多很重要。”

Indeed, not all French here are so put out.

誠然，并非所有法國人都不滿。

One is Jean Pierre Amoreau, a celebrated maker of Bordeaux at Château Le Puy. Is he worried? “Not at all,” he said.

比如讓·皮埃爾·阿莫乎(Jean Pierre Amoreau)，他是勒龐酒莊(Château Le Puy)的知名波爾多葡萄酒釀酒師。他擔心嗎?“一點都不，”他說。

The Chinese were helping a lot of owners who, because of high French inheritance taxes, often can’t afford to pass their properties on to children, he argued.

他認為中國人在幫助很多莊園主人，他們由于法國的高額遺產(chǎn)稅，往往承受不起把財產(chǎn)留給子女的負擔。

‘‘The Chinese have a lot of liquidity, so they are helping these owners have a decent retirement,” he said. “And they are helping to preserve the chateaus.”

“中國人有很多現(xiàn)金，所以他們正在幫助這些莊園主過上體面的退休生活，”他說。“中國人也在幫助保護這些莊園。”

Jean-Marie Garde, a producer who heads the winemakers syndicate in the storied Pomerol district nearby, agreed, to a point.

釀酒商讓-瑪里·加德(Jean-Marie Garde)是附近有名的波美洛區(qū)(Pomerol)釀酒師聯(lián)合會的負責人，他在一定程度上同意這種說法。

“For the Chinese, we say, ‘Why not?’’’ Mr. Garde said. ‘‘They are present, but not that present.”

“對中國人，我們說，‘為什么不呢?’加德說。“他們來了，但他們并不呆在這里。”

Still, “We’re all a little disconcerted by this name-changing,” Mr. Garde said. “And what’s a bit disconcerting, too, is that you never meet them,” he said of the new Chinese proprietors.

盡管如此，“我們都對這個名字的改變感到有點不安，”加德說。“還有一點令人不安的是，你從來都見不到他們，”他說，他指的是那些新的中國業(yè)主。

Yet they have not been entirely invisible, either. It was startling, for some, to see the red Chinese flag floating above the Clos des Quatre Vents, within sight of the famous Château Margaux in the Médoc, maker of the highest ranked of all Bordeaux wines.

不過，他們也并非完全蹤跡全無。對有些人來說，四方莊園上空飄揚的五星紅旗有點嚇人。從梅多克(Medoc)著名的瑪歌莊園(Chateau Margaux)可以看到這面紅旗，瑪歌莊園釀造的是所有波爾多葡萄酒中排名最高的酒。

Recently, the celebrated writer Philippe Sollers wrote a reproachful open letter to the mayor of Bordeaux, reflecting the anxiety coursing through the region and protesting what some saw as audacity in changing the names of historic chateaus.

最近，著名作家菲利浦·索萊爾斯(Philippe Sollers)給波爾多市長寫了一封帶有責備口吻的公開信，反映了該地區(qū)彌漫的焦慮情緒，并抗議了一些人認為是大膽無禮的做法：改變歷史悠久的酒莊名字。

“I’m not excessively curious to know about the life of these animals, never having encountered, during my childhood in Bordeaux, the slightest ‘imperial rabbit’ or ‘Tibetan antelope,’’’ Mr. Sollers wrote. “Is there no way to rededicate this wine to its legitimate source, affixed by the centuries?”

“我對這些動物的生活并不十分好奇，我在波爾多的整個童年時期從未見過‘御兔’或‘藏羚羊’，哪怕是最微小的跡象。”索萊爾斯寫道。“難道沒有辦法讓這些酒用其合法的來源，用幾百年來都貼著的標簽重新命名嗎?”

Loic Grassin, whose grandfather bought the magnificent white-stone mansion of the Château Senilhac in the Médoc in 1938, was not too keen on the name change either, after he recently sold to a Chinese buyer.

1938年，洛伊克·格拉辛(Loic Grassin)的祖父買下了梅多克地區(qū)塞尼哈克酒莊(Chateau Senilhac)宏偉的白石大宅。在最近賣給一位中國買家之后，他對于改名也不以為然。

He had never even seen a “Tibetan Antelope,” as the estate was newly named.

他從未見過哪怕是一只“藏羚羊”，這是該酒莊的新名稱。

“Look, I took it very badly,” he said. “They debaptized it. It’s bizarre. Animals, I’ve got nothing against them. But, come on, ‘Tibetan Antelope’? Where are they coming from with that one?”

“這么說吧，我對此非常不滿，”他說。“他們改了酒莊的名字。改成一個很怪的動物，我對它們沒有任何反感。但是，得了吧，怎么是“藏羚羊”呢?他們起這個名字是怎么想的?”

They are coming from a desire to draw an important link to China, which has become the destination for some 20 percent of the wine produced in Bordeaux. As much as 80 percent of the wine produced by the Chinese owners goes straight to China and is never seen in France.

他們想的是需要與中國建立重要的聯(lián)系，波爾多生產(chǎn)的葡萄酒中，有20%左右銷往中國。中國人擁有的酒莊生產(chǎn)的葡萄酒中高達80%直接銷往中國，在法國根本看不到這些酒。

‘‘This is not about traditional Chinese culture,’’ said a leading French Sinologist, Jean-Philippe Béja of Sciences Po. ‘‘It is about marketing.”

“這與中國傳統(tǒng)文化無關(guān)，”巴黎政治學院(Sciences-Po)的法國漢學家白夏(Jean- Philippe Béja)說。“這與營銷有關(guān)。”

But he disputed that the strategy was in fact a good one.

但他對這種策略實際上是否有好處表示懷疑。

“This is imitating ‘Made in China,’ which doesn’t even have a good reputation,’’ he said. ‘‘The interest, for the Chinese, is to have something foreign that belongs to them.”

“這是在模仿‘中國制造’，這個標簽其實并沒有什么好名聲，”他說。“對中國人來說，興趣在于擁有一種屬于他們的外國東西。”

Perhaps for that reason the Chinese invasion has been limited to perhaps 3 percent of the roughly 6,000 chateaus in the Bordelais region. The Chinese also have not bought any of the most celebrated wine producers, opting instead for the middling and lesser-ranked.

也許正是因為這個原因，中國人的入侵只限于大約6000座酒莊中的3%。中國也沒有收購任何最知名的葡萄酒生產(chǎn)商，而是選擇了排名靠后的中低檔葡萄酒品牌。

The Chinese imprint on the style of the wine has been muted, too, in the view of local producers.

在本土釀酒商看來，中國人對葡萄酒風格的影響也不大。

“I see no change in style,” said Mr. Amoreau, the winemaker. “Nobody is going to take the risk of changing this style, for a style that doesn’t really exist,” he said, referring to Chinese wines.

“我看不出風格有什么變化，”釀酒師阿莫乎說。“沒有人會冒險去改變這種風格，改為一種并不存在風格，”他說，他指的是中國的葡萄酒。

The Chinese owners, in fact, leave much of the actual winemaking in the hands of the French teams already in place.

實際上，中國的主人把大部分實際的釀酒工作留給了酒莊原有的法國團隊。

Julia Zhang, a rare Chinese owner who lives on the property, in the Sainte Foy district of Bordeaux, has chosen not to change the name of her Château des Chapelains. She couldn’t even recall the last name of her chief vintner, Claudine Rey, acknowledging her autonomy.

茱莉婭·張(Julia Zhang)是一位罕見的中國主人。她住在波爾多圣福瓦區(qū)的酒莊里，而且選擇不改變她的酒莊沙普蘭酒莊(Château des Chapelains)的名字。她甚至想不起來她的首席釀酒師克勞汀·雷伊(Claudine Rey)的姓，她承認克勞汀的自主權(quán)。

“Claudine runs everything,” Ms. Zhang said.

“克勞汀管這里的所有事情，”張女士說。

Ms. Zhang lives alone in her old stone farmhouse, isolated in the vineyards, her real estate-rich husband far away in China. She speaks almost no French or English and communicates with her staff through an associate.

張女士獨自住在石頭砌的古老農(nóng)舍里，在葡萄園里過著與世隔絕的生活。她靠房地產(chǎn)發(fā)財?shù)恼煞蜻h在國內(nèi)。她幾乎不會說法語或英語，只能通過助手與員工交流。

“It takes a lot of courage,” said Laurent Chu, a Franco-Chinese who works for Bordeaux’s chamber of agriculture and serves as liaison for many of the Chinese owners.

“這需要很大的勇氣，”華裔法國人勞倫·朱(Laurent Chu)說，他在波爾多農(nóng)業(yè)協(xié)會工作，為許多中國酒莊主當聯(lián)絡人。

Is Ms. Zhang changing her small corner of France, or is France changing Ms. Zhang? The evidence suggests the latter. “I want to be like the French,” she said through Mr. Chu.

是張女士在改變她所在的那個法國小角落呢，還是法國在改變她?有證據(jù)表明是后者。“我想像法國人那樣，”她通過朱先生說。

‘‘Some of these Chinese investors, they’ve kept their Chinese mentality,” she added.

“這些中國投資者中，有些人保持了他們的中國心態(tài)，”張女士補充說。

Others agreed. The Chinese owners “want a return quickly, in two, three years,’’ said Mr. Hu of Clos des Quatre Vents. ‘‘If they don’t see results quickly, they say, ‘Hey, what’s going on?’”

其他人同意這種說法。中國酒莊主“希望在兩三年內(nèi)迅速得到回報”，四方莊園的胡楠說。“如果他們不能很快看到結(jié)果，他們會說，‘嘿，怎么回事兒?’”

Chi Keung Tong, a Hong Kong businessman, and his mainland compatriots have bought some 150 properties in the last decade.

香港商人唐志強(Chi Keung Tong，音)以及來自大陸的中國人在過去10年里已購買了約150個酒莊。

Among them is the ‘‘Imperial Rabbit,’’ actually Château Lapin Impérial, formerly the venerable Chateau Larteau, a property dating back to 1776, on a peaceful stretch of the Dordogne river 30 miles from Bordeaux.

這些酒莊包括“御兔”，法文名叫Chateau Lapin Impérial，以前是歷史悠久的拉多酒莊(Chateau Larteau)，建于1776年，位于多爾多涅河沿岸一段安靜的土地上，距波爾多約50公里。

He did not want to talk about the name change, and neither did the nervous French gatekeeper at the estate, before she shooed away unwelcome visitors.

他不想談改名的問題。給酒莊看門的惶恐不安的法國人在趕走不受歡迎的客人之前也不想談這個問題。

“No, no, no, it’s not rabbits, it hares!” she insisted.

“不，不，不，不是兔，是野兔!”她堅持道。

“We’ve got hares, we’ve got deers, we’ve got everything, but we don’t have any rabbits,” she said, before stating the obvious. “Things have changed around here.”

“我們有野兔，我們有鹿，我們什么都有，但我們沒有兔，”她說。然后，她說了一句大實話：“這里的事情已經(jīng)變了。”