This is the first procedure of its kind. And she could make a lot of noise. Since the end of 2022, Rémi Lacombe, winegrower in the north of Medoc, has decided to stop selling its bulk wine production at a loss. While the average cost price of bulk wine in the Médoc is around 2,000 to 2,200 euros per barrel excluding tax, the traders involved buy it between 1,150 and 1,200 euros excluding tax per barrel.
With a price that is close to the price of one euro per liter, it is no longer possible to continue for Rémi Lacombe. “Below a certain price level, it becomes humiliation, a kind of unhealthy addiction,” he describes in contained rage.
“Challenging the entire purchasing chain”
He wants to claim the Egalim law of 2018 which prohibits farmers from being offered an abusively low purchase price. It led to a modification of article L. 442-7 of the Commercial Code which henceforth “incurs the responsibility of its author and obliges him to repair the damage caused by the fact for a buyer of agricultural products or foodstuffs to make its supplier charge an abusively low transfer price”. There are still questions at this stage about how the excessively low price should be assessed, but for Rémi Lacombe’s lawyer, Maître Louis Lacamp: “Whatever the criteria, in my opinion there will be recognition of a price excessively low. »
In the case of this Médoc winegrower, the difference between the price at which he bought his wine production in bulk and the average cost price is around 900,000 euros over the last two years. And, if we consider that it is a question of making a living and making a little profit and that we add 10% to it, we end up with a slate of 1, 1 million euros, which the lawyer intends to present to the two traders targeted by the procedure. His client does not want to name them but “question the general mode of operation of the wine purchasing sector”, points out his advice. Clearly it would be a question of “renegotiating the entire sales chain, he adds. Large retailers will have to make a lower margin and the consumer will no longer be able to buy a bottle of Bordeaux Médoc for three euros”.
“A huge risk”
“Those who act take an enormous risk, adds the lawyer. Since my client took this action, he is no longer offered any bulk purchases and this is the reason why no one dares to act. Why did Rémi Lacombe take the plunge? “For the honor of my profession and the love of my job first and also because I am annoyed by my fellow human beings who do nothing and angry at the self-satisfaction of people who think they are strong because they are in a very small system”, replies the winegrower. He also scratches the surface of the “disappointing” responses from merchants who place the blame on the market, the broker or the drop in wine consumption.
He feels “caught” between the demands imposed on his production and the very low value he can derive from it. “My wines have been tasted by buyers and have been selected,” he says. It’s not like I made bad wines. As for the other winegrowers, official support is not forthcoming for the moment. “If I win it will fix them but we don’t take a position in my favor before, it’s very regrettable and very not very courageous”, loose Rémi Lacombe who believes that it is time for the interprofession to take an interest in the conditions of distribution. of its products. “What we strive to do well, we want to sell it properly,” he summarizes.
First hearing on June 8
Indebted and scarred in his personal life, Rémi Lacombe hopes above all to move the lines, seeing the misery that settles in many “bulky people” and the economic disaster that is looming for the region. “There are the great wines of Bordeaux and the small “vains” of Bordeaux”, he quips.
Solicited by 20 minutes, Bordeaux Négoce, which brings together the players in this sector, does not wish to comment on this current affair. A first hearing is scheduled before the Commercial Court of Bordeaux on June 8, but the opposing party could request a postponement, in a file where many legal questions will arise.