Unamned China buyer snaps up St Emilion classified growth

Chateau Bellefont-Belcier, a Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé, is the latest property – and the first classified growth - to be sold to a Chinese purchaser.

This 13ha estate has been on the market for some time, and will be the first classified growth on either Left or Right Bank to be bought by a Chinese investor, if the agreed-upon sale goes through.

The deal was overseen by Franck Lagorce Conseil, a land management consultancy based in Bordeaux.

The price of the property, formerly owned by Jacques Berrebi, Alain Laguillaumie and Dominique Hébrand, has not been revealed, but a classified estate in Saint Emilion should fetch between €1m and €2m per hectare.

‘A serious offer has been accepted for the estate,’ Lagorce told Decanter.com, adding that it had not been finalised yet, but was with the government land agency SAFER (Société d'aménagement foncier et d'établissement rural), which verifies all deals involving agricultural land holdings, a process which invariably takes several months.

No confirmation of the buyer will be released until the final sale has been agreed; according to local reports he is a Chinese industrialist who works in the metal industry.

Lagorce did confirm that the purchaser intends to keep the existing commercial structure of the chateau in place, selling through the négociant system of the Place de Bordeaux.

‘He has a great respect for the system of Bordeaux,’ he said.

Other recent Chinese purchases include Chateau Millaud Montlabert, also in Saint Emilion, the tenth estate to be bought by the Haichang Group(others include Brandaand Chenu Lafitte).

In Cotes de Castillon, the 12.5ha Chateau Lucas has been purchased by Chinese architect Wencheng Li, owner of Wencheng Castle near Beijing.