Wine's world

Another unusual wine transaction has just taken place in Burgundy. 10 ares, or 1,000 m², of the Chevalier-Montrachet grand cru belonging to the Vincent Dancer estate have been acquired by LVMH for... 11 million for the bare ownership alone.

This corresponds to a total price (bare ownership + beneficial ownership) of €120 million euros per hectare for a parcel of a white grand cru that is certainly of high quality, but less prestigious than Montrachet.

Assuming an annual return on investment of 5% and a harvest of 45 hectolitres per hectare, the financial costs will amount to €1,000 per bottle, to which must be added at least the production costs (€50 ? per bottle) and LVMH marketing costs (?). The price of the finest Burgundies, red or white, is not about to fall...

Meanwhile, the price of a one-hectare parcel of the best terroirs in Pauillac or Saint-Émilion stands at a maximum of €3-4 million.

Until now, the "Vieilles Vignes" label was left to the free interpretation of winegrowers, unlike the mandatory labels (alcohol content, PDO, etc.). 

To remove any ambiguity (and combat misleading commercial practices), the Comité National des Vins AOP has adopted the definition proposed by the OIV (Organisation Internationale de la Vigne et du Vin): to be labelled “Vieilles Vignes”, a wine must come from parcels comprising at least 85% of vines aged 35 years or more.

In the 1950s, 70% of Bordeaux's vineyards were planted with white grapes, mainly in the Entre-deux-Mers region. As red wine became increasingly popular, these white vines were gradually uprooted or grafted onto reds.

With consumers now demanding lighter, fresher wines, the great Bordeaux growths quickly (and opportunely) began producing their own dry white wines. Here's our list of the Médoc's great classified growths to date, and we're sure that this (non-exhaustive) list will soon be extended:

- in Haut-Médoc: La Tour Carnet Blanc
- in Margaux: Tertre Blanc, Blanc de Château d'Issan, Brane Cantenac Blanc, Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux
- Saint-Julien: Arums de Lagrange, Caillou Blanc de Talbot
- in Pauillac: Blanc de Duhart-Milon, Blanc de Lynch-Bages, Les Griffons de Pichon-Baron Blanc, Pichon-Comtesse Blanc, Aile d'Argent de Mouton-Rothschild
- in Saint-Estèphe: Cos d'Estournel Blanc

In parallel with this acceleration, many appellations, like Pessac-Léognan, are asking to be given a white appellation in order to break away from the catch-all ‘Bordeaux blanc’ label. The ‘Médoc blanc’ appellation could be created from the 2026 vintage onwards.