Château de Bel-Air
Appellation
AOC Castillon Cotes-de-Bordeaux
Vendor
GFA du Domaine de Bellair
Acquirers
Golden Field
The buyer is a food and beverage multinational corporation situated in Shanghai, Beijing, Taiwan and France. Specializing in health foods its policy is to own its production sources to guarantee quality control. It owns more than 4,000 restaurants and convenience stores as well as one of the largest online retail shops with over 30 million members.
Paul-Antoine Saint German of EY Avocats advised the buyer while Pierre Lamant of Dupouy et Associés advised the seller.
The chateau dates back to 1627 having a noble history including Louis 13th squire Jean Dupoujet. The seller purchased the Chateau in 1993 and invested substantially to improve the estate’s agriculture, improving infrastructure and renovating the chateau residence. The wine is sold under the name of Chateau Bel-Air, AOC Castillon Cotes de Bordeaux.
The new owner has purchased the 55 ha vineyard estate (80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc) that produces about 400,000 bottles per year. It was selected due to its outstanding terroir and production volume. The existing operations team and distribution system is being maintained but it will be enhanced by exports to Asian markets through the Golden Field distribution network.
Client's Perspective
This is an important moment for us as a company – to own our own Bordeaux vineyard is an exciting step and although we plan to keep the existing wine distribution channels we will also export to Japan, Taiwan, China and Southeast Asian countries to make the most of the existing wine distribution networks we have developed there. We want to pursue the traditions of the French wine culture and open a new page of history with Chateau Bel-Air.