News Briefs for June 27, 2011
June 27, 2011•The Wertheimers, the family that controls the Chanel Group, have acquired grand cru classé Château Matras in St.-Emilion, according to a report in Wine Spectator. The 31.6-acre estate borders Château Canon, a premier grand cru classé B, also owned by the family. The price was $11.4 million or $368,932 per acre. The Chanel Group’s Bordeaux holdings including Châteaus Canon and Rauzan-Ségla in Margaux and wine merchant Ulysse Cazabonne.
•Private equity owners of New Zealand-based Independent Liquor are looking to sell at least part of the drinks group, according to Reuters. Unitas Capital and Pacific Equity Partners, which jointly acquired Independent in 2006 for over $1 billion following the death of founder Michael Erceg, have hired UBS to find potential bidders for Independent either in whole or in part. Japanese brewers Asahi and Suntory have reportedly already lodged bids for Independent, which had revenue of $334 million last year but posted losses of $18.3 million. Independent operates across the spirits, beer, wine and RTD markets with brands like Vodka Cruiser RTDs, Woodstock Bourbon, and Carlsberg and Kingfisher beers. Its North America president is Bruce Herman.
•Argentina’s bulk wine exports to the U.S. more than doubled in the first quarter of 2011, surpassing Chile, according to trade group Área del Vino and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Argentina exported roughly $10 million worth of bulk wine to the U.S. for the quarter ended March 31, compared to $4.6 million in the year-earlier period. Chile, whose average price for bulk wine has risen recently, exported $7 million worth of bulk wine to the U.S. in the first quarter.
•Former Brown-Forman distiller Lincoln Henderson and the Louisville Distilling Company have begun rolling out Angel’s Envy Bourbon in select U.S. markets. A small batch, super-premium Bourbon, Angel’s Envy is aged for four to six years in white oak before finishing in Port barrels for an incremental five to six months. The new 43.3%-abv Bourbon is debuting in the New York, Louisville, Chicago, San Francisco, Miami, Austin, Washington D.C. and Boulder/Denver markets, priced at $44.99 per 750ml.
•Domaine Clarence Dillon—owner of the Château Haut-Brion and Château La Mission Haut-Brion—has purchased St-Èmilion Grand Cru Classe Château Tertre Daugay. Financial details weren’t disclosed. Domaine Clarence Dillon “looks forward to returning this great estate to its former glory,” said Prince Robert of Luxembourg, president of DCD. Previously owned by the Malet-Roquefort family, Château Tertre Daugay is a 16-hectare estate specializing in Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
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