A Russian entrepreneur has unveiled plans to buy Chateau d’Avize in Champagne.
Boris Titov’s SVL Group says it intends to turn around the fortunes of the Cote de Blancs based property, formerly owned by the LVMH group.
SVL also owns the 100-year-old Russian sparkling wine house Abrau-Durso in the North Caucasus.
The company said that it plans to lease several hectares of Grand Cru Chardonnay vineyards, as the estate is currently out of wine production and does not own any vines.
A spokesman for the group said the transaction had not been finalised, but it ‘considers the premium alcohol segment a very important part of its activity’.
‘Champagne seemed to be an obvious candidate for the group’s presence,’ the spokesman told decanter.com.
.
‘This project presents a great challenge to our winemaking and marketing skills. If we achieve this in Champagne, any other project will seem easy’, he added.
SVL is aiming to sell into Europe, Asia, and the former Soviet Union, and hopes to reach an annual production of 1.5m bottles in the next five years.
Written by James Lawrence
