Château Le Prieuré, the St-Emilion grand cru classé estate, plus Pomerol’s Château Vray Croix de Gay and Château Siaurac in Lalande-de-Pomerol have been acquired by Suravenir, a spokesperson for Latour owner Artémis confirmed.
Artémis first invested in the properties in 2014, initially buying a minority stake in the trio, and has been credited with helping to drive several developments in the vineyard and cellar in recent years.
Pénélope Godefroy, formerly of Latour, is technical director across the three estates, with ex-Petrus winemaker Jean-Claude Berrouet a consultant.
Decanter’s Jane Anson has praised recent vintages, lauding the ‘lovely depth’ and precision of Le Prieuré 2019 and the ‘exciting’ Vray Croix de Gay 2018, in particular. She also enjoyed the grip, delicacy and restraint of the Siaurac 2018.
Siaurac is the largest of the three properties, with 46 hectares on one vineyard site on the plateau of Néac, planted to 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 5% Malbec.
Artémis declined to comment further on the reason for the deal, but the move significantly expands the Bordeaux presence of Suravenir, a subsidiary of insurance group Crédit Mutuel Arkéa.
Suravenir bought majority stakes in Châteaux Calon Ségur and Capbern in St-Estèphe from the Gasqueton family in 2012.
Vincent Millet, Calon Ségur’s general manager and who will manage the newly purchased Right Bank properties, told the Anthocyanes blog of Decanter contributor Yohan Castaing that he was ‘very excited’ but was also keen to learn about the terroir from the existing winemaking team.
Alongside First Growth Latour, Artémis Domaines also includes Eisele Vineyard in Napa Valley, Château-Grillet in the Northern Rhône and both Clos du Tart and Domaine d’Eugénie in Burgundy.
