China ups investment in Bordeaux wineries

Chinese conglomerate and Great Wall wine brand owner COFCO has bought Château de Viaud in Lalande de Pomerol for €10 million, following the company¡¯s purchase of the sizeable Bisquertt Vineyard in Chile at the end of last year for US$18m.

¡°Our Great Wall label is already the leader in the Chinese market; our role is to now set foot in other foreign wineries,¡± said COFCO vice-president Jingtao Chi at a signing ceremony in Bordeaux last week, confirming the company¡¯s intention to acquire further overseas wineries and vineyards.

The deal marks the latest in a handful of Bordeaux acquisitions by Chinese investors, most recent of which was the purchase of the Château Chenu Lafitte brand and vineyard parcel by a Chinese shipping tycoon in November as a gift for his son, which followed the sale of Château Latour Laguens to Longhai Internation trading company in January.

It is surely no coincidence that both these little-known Bordeaux properties have names so closely associated with famous First Growth estates.

Château de Viaud¡¯s former owner Philippe Raoux is said to have spent 30 months negotiating with COFCO before the sale was finalised.

Raoux is also owner of La Winery and Château d¡¯Arsac in the Medoc and bought Château de Viaud, which is one of the oldest properties in the Lalande de Pomerol, in 2002.

The estate extends to a little over 21 hectares with 67% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Franc and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon grown on gravel and sand soils.