Bordeaux négociant Yvon Mau announced last week the permanent closure of its bottling facility in Gironde-sur-Dropt, southeast of Bordeaux. The Yvon Mau company was founded in 1897 and became a subsidiary of the Spanish'Freixenet group in 2001. Since Freixenet's acquisition by Henkell in 2018, it has been part of the German Henkell-Freixenet group.
The Gironde-sur-Dropt site bottled the French Bordeaux and IGP branded wines for the group's French business division, Freixenet Gratien. According to the company's own figures, over 20m bottles of still wine were produced here annually in recent years, distributed by Freixenet Gratien in France and in export markets. A possible closure had already been speculated for several months. The company still owns two other sites in France: Saumur (Gratien & Meyer) and Épernay (Champagne Alfred Gratien).
According to the business magazine 'Les Echos', the company justifies the move by citing the decline in still wine consumption. However, the Gironde-sur-Dropt site is set to retain a function as a warehouse and shipping center. It will focus on the Bordeaux Châteaux and Grands Crus with which Yvon Mau has established exclusive partnerships. Nevertheless, 57 out of the total 75 employees are expected to lose their jobs. For the Gironde-sur-Dropt location, the closure represents a significant blow.
Mayor Philippe Moutier told radio station France Bleu that up to 600 employees had worked for the company in the mid-1920s and 1930s, and that Yvon Mau was so deeply rooted in the community that two of its executives became mayors. Accordingly, criticism of the closure comes from the union side. Speaking to 'Les Echos', Emmanuel Cussonneau, head of the French agricultural and food union, spoke of "opportunistic gains by the Henkell group, which is taking the opportunity to reorganize its production amid the wine crisis." SP
