Cyril Delarue, Business Development Director at Champagne Bollinger.

Sixth generation of the family!

In this fourth episode, Caroline Meesemaecker talks with Cyril Delarue, Business Development Director, about his love for the brand and his drive to grow Bollinger around the world.

Could you introduce yourself?

"Cyril Delarue, 41, three kids, and Business Development Director at Champagne Bollinger since 2018. Before that I spent five years in the United States working for the group - including Bollinger, but also all of the group's brands."

What's your secret for showing up with so much energy after nine years at Bollinger?

"Well - maybe not first thing in the morning, but I drink a lot of Bollinger! It helps, gives you a boost, keeps you young. But more seriously, Champagne Bollinger is a brand you fall in love with when you discover it. One reason is that it's a family company.

We're approaching 200 years of history, with the same family at the head of Champagne Bollinger since its founding - extremely rare; only two or three Champagne houses are in that situation. That's a powerful thing, because it allows for a long-term vision. When you're part of the family - I'm the sixth generation - the goal is to pass this company, this gem, on to the next generation.

Another element is our ability to create wines I find legendary - Vieille Vigne Française, R.D., La Grande Année. Truly iconic wines. Being able to produce them year after year is extraordinary and very exciting, and spreading that good news is something I really enjoy."

If you had to sum up Bollinger in three words?

"Three words will be hard, because we love to talk about Bollinger, but I'll play along.

First word: independence. We're a family-owned, independent company - in our ownership and financially, but also in how we think and make our wines. Being independent forces you to be different, to find the solutions that keep that independence. The whole family wants us to stay family-owned, and that's essential to us.

Second word: authenticity. Being true, being transparent. When someone visits Champagne Bollinger, they see that the bottles on the riddling racks are the very bottles that will be disgorged by hand, riddled by hand, and end up on that visitor's table. That's authenticity.

Third word: innovation. We don't cultivate authenticity to build a museum. Every step we've chosen to preserve from tradition is good for the wine - a mark of quality. Alongside that, we have a lot of innovation. That balance between tradition and innovation is characteristic of Bollinger; we have a five-person R&D team deepening our expertise in Pinot Noir and our terroirs. So: independence, authenticity, innovation."

How do you manage allocations across distribution networks and develop an e-commerce strategy?

"Right now, allocations are spread across 120 markets, set by cuvée and by format - so quite strict. And next year, with the tension as high as it is, we'll introduce phasing: we'll ask clients to collect their allocated volumes on specific dates throughout the year. Our commitment is to give clients visibility - allocating volumes on a rolling 12-month basis.

On distribution, even though we have a strong retail strategy, the goal today isn't to chase new accounts for volume. We can't increase volume for e-commerce. The priority is to control our distribution and visibility, and to keep our message consistent everywhere online. France and England are our two pilot markets on this approach, and they've fully bought in once we explained we weren't trying to grow volumes, but to improve distribution visibility first.

Later, when we have larger volumes - and of course we won't stay in allocation mode for Bollinger's next 200 years - we'll be able to expand distribution. And we'll be ready to decide: this site, yes, with this investment, because it's well rated; that one, no, or with a different investment, because it's rated lower."