You could forgive Treasury Wine Estates’ chairman John Mullen for wanting a glass of Penfolds Grange after the week he’s had.

On the one hand, he has had to contend with China’s Politburo cracking down on the country’s alcohol consumption; on the other has been the backlash from a cohort of governance-stickler shareholders who want to replace him.

The maker of Penfolds, Treasury Wine Estates, has been hit by a Chinese government crackdown on alcohol spending by party officials.Credit: Marija Ercegovac

China is a big market for Treasury Wine, so this government intervention has serious profit implications.

All this at a time when Treasury Wine is “between chief executives”.

Mullen’s dilemma on Thursday was his receipt of a reprimand from shareholders who cast a protest vote against him because they argued he was chairing one too many boards (Mullen is also the chair of Qantas, Brambles and the unlisted consultancy Scyne). The protest vote was embarrassing but Mullen was re-elected comfortably, with almost 85 per cent of votes supporting him remaining in the job.

The bigger problem is a Chinese government crackdown on boozy banquets.

It falls under the banner of “Regulations on Practicing Thrift........

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