Remoissenet Pere et Fils, one of the most venerable of Burgundy producers, has been sold.
The firm, its vineyards and ancient Beane cellars was bought by New York financier Edward Millstein – an avid Burgundy collector – and Maison Louis Jadot.
Millstein, who has been a fan of Remoissenet for years, has the majority shareholding while Jadot has a holding of less than 20%. The sale price was around €10m.
There was a good deal of interest in the sale, Bernard Repolt of Remoissenet told decanter.com, so infrequently does Beaune property of this calibre change hands.
Remoissenet Pere et Fils is one of Beaune’s wealthiest domaines, with a 14th century property within the walls of the town and 2.5ha which includes Beaune Premier Cru, Maconnais, Bressandes and Beaune Greves. It also produces an entire range as negociant.
From its own holdings and around the same amount of bought-in grapes, Remoissenet produces about 200,000 bottles a year.
Repolt said they would expect to double production within five years by increasing vineyard holdings and buying in more grapes.
The company was run for 30 years by Roland Remoissenet, a figure described by Robert Parker as ‘one of the most dashing’ in Burgundy. He recently retired and put the firm up for sale.
‘As soon as we heard it was for sale we put M Remoissenet in touch with Mr Millstein,’ Repolt said, describing the house as ‘a sleeping beauty’ with an amazing library of old vintages. He said as a company it was ‘in very good shape.’
Jadot – which has holdings of 70ha in the Cote D’Or – will remain ‘good neighbours’, Repolt said, adding that the markets for Remoissenet and Jadot were very different, with the former being very much a wine for collectors and investors.
Written by Adam Lechmere
