Nicolas d
e Rouyn, Editor-in-Chief at Bettane and Desseauve is reporting in his blog Bon Vivant that Gerard Perse has sold a portion of Chateau Monbousquet. To a ‘mutuelle’ (usually an insurance company) eager to acquire land.
Perse bought Monbousquet 20 years ago and has resided there ever since its rennovation.
He made the later purchases of Chateaux Pavie, Pavie Decesse, Bellevue Mondotte, Clos Les Lunelles, Clos L’Eglise and Saint Colombe and has recently been reputed to be considering buying a vineyard in Tuscany.
Monbousquet lies 500 metres south of the town of Saint Emilion in the commune of Saint Sulpice de Faleyrens . The chateau dates back to 1540 and was owned in the early 18th century to the de Carle family, seigneurs of Château Figeac.
In the 19th century the chateau passed to the Comte de Vassal-Montviel who expanded the estate to 98 acres and had vines planted on a large scale. In 1945 Monbousquet was bought by the Querre family who were predominant in t
he local Jurade of Saint Emilion. Perse purchased it in 1993 and Monbousquet was elevated to Grand cru classé in the Saint Émilion classification of 2006.
The vineyards of Monbousquet lie on a patchwork of different soils covering sandy clays with a high iron content and deep gravel beds. The grapes grown are 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon.
According to La Revue de Vin de France (LARVF) Perse announced the sale of a minority share in Cha
teau Monbousquet during a press conference promoting his wine “L’Esprit de Pavie” at the restaurant Carré des Feuillants. He said that he had named his only daughter Angelique and her husband Henrique Da Costa as his successors.
Both are already involved in the management of his chateaux and hotel/restaurant Plaisance de Saint-Emilion. Inheritance in France is very different to the UK and .the Droits de Succession covers death duties and lifetime transfers.
Apparently Perse must pay 70 million euros for the Droits de Succession and told LARVF that he was forced to sell a minority of Monbousquet to raise the money.
Chateau Pavie was promoted to Premier Cru Classé A in the 2012 Saint Emilion Classification. Rennovating and constantly improving Chateau Pavie is reported to have amounted to 14 million euros and the partial sale of Monbousquet will also allow Perse to finish paying for 2 more years work.
The rennovations include the extension of the winery and the establishment of a reception room of 600 square metres for business events which will be inaugurated at the next Vinexpo in June 2013. Perse is also said to be planning to produce a white wine from Chateau Pavie.
Perse remains at the head of Monbousquet and the new shareholder is described as “dormant” and as having no other holdings in the wine industry.
