News Briefs for April 17, 2023

•Michel Reybier, the billionaire hotelier and owner of St.-Estèphe second-growth Château Cos-d’Estournel, has purchased neighboring winery Château Cos Labory. Reybier finalized a deal a few weeks ago, purchasing the fifth-growth from the Audoy family for an undisclosed sum. The deal expands Reybier’s growing wine empire and his presence in St.-Estèphe. Wine Spectator has the full story.

•Rare Champagne, the high-end offering from Piper-Heidsieck, is launching Rare Millésime 2013, its 13th vintage bottling. Rare Millésime 2013 will be available in early summer at the suggested retail price of €250 ($276). In the U.S., Rare Champagne is handled by Folio Fine Wine Partners.

•Proximo Spirits and the PGA Tour have announced a new four-year partnership, naming Bushmills the official whiskey of the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions. Bushmills, as part of the Tour’s official marketing partner program, will launch onsite activations, a digital campaign, and consumer sweepstakes, among other Tour-related promotions. Throughout the Tour, Bushmills will also serve Irish Coffees and the distillery’s single malt whiskies at its own branded bar. This is the second time Proximo has teamed up with the PGA Tour, following the March 2021 partnership between Maestro Dobel Tequila and the Tour. With the Tequila’s deal extended, both brands will be part of the PGA Tour through 2026.

•Jefferson’s, part of the Pernod Ricard portfolio, has launched Marian McLain Bourbon, a new whiskey named for an historic bootlegger and ancestor of Jefferson’s founder Trey Zoeller. The 51% abv whiskey blends five different Bourbons: 21% of the blend is made up of 14-year-old Tennessee Straight Bourbon, 40% is 11-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon, 14% is a wheated double-barrel whiskey, 17% is drawn from Bourbon finished in rum casks, and 8% is an 8-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon. Jefferson’s Marian McLain Bourbon is rolling out now across the U.S. where it carries a suggested price of $300 a bottle.

•Cultor, a new Miami-based Tequila RTD brand, has launched in stores throughout the Sunshine State. The line kicks off with four flavors, all made with 100% blue agave Tequila produced at La Experiencia distillery. The flavors are Passion, made with passionfruit and chili; Coco, made with coconut water and lime; Flora, with grapefruit, hibiscus, lime, and cucumber; and Soul, made with pineapple and ginger. All four are at 12.5% abv and packaged in 200-ml. cans. Cultor’s cocktails retail at a suggested price of $23 a 4-pack.

Tagged : Bushmills, Champagne Piper-Heidsieck, Château Cos Labory, Château Cos-d’Estournel, Cultor, Jefferson's, Pernod Ricard, PGA, Proximo, Rare

GET YOUR FIRST LOOK AT 2025 ESTIMATES AND 2030 PROJECTIONS FOR THE WINE AND SPIRITS INDUSTRIES. ORDER YOUR 2025 IMPACT DATABANK REPORTS. CLICK HERE.