The Sud Ouest paper has reported that Chateau Listran was sold to a Chinese business woman, Ms Cheng. Apparently the discreet sale of the chateau took place last year. The name of the chateau has also been changed – from the 2010 vintage onwards Listran will be known as Chateau L’Estran.
L’Estran was formerly used as the name in year’s past and translates to ‘Foreshore‘.
It seems that the reason behind the name change was down to the fact that the name / brand of ‘Chateau Listran’ was filed in China by crooks hoping to cash in when the rightful owner realised that they had acquired it.
Hijacking brand names and domain names is an unscrupulous practice that is common across the globe and one that I wrote about recently in my blog covering cybersquatting:
Wine Versus Cybersquatting – New Top Level Domains for Wine Producers Need Proper Regulation. Ms Cheng was obviously not one to be held to ransom, hence Listran’s name change,
The chateau has been ranked Cru Bourgeois since 1988 and lies in Jau-Dignac-et-Loirac in the northern Médoc. It was sold to Ms Cheng by Arnaud Crété, who is 56 years old and has no heirs to inherit the property.
In the late 19th century Chateau Listran was an impressive estate, spanning 865 acres of farmland and forestry – 149 of which were under vine.
In the 1930s, the property was sold to the Duke Infantado Francavilla, who served as a famous general in the Spanish army during World War II.
However after the war the vineyard declined due to lack of manpower and the area under vine was scaled back.
The Crété family purchased the estate over 20 years ago and undertook the restoration of the vineyard and winery, which now spans 69 acres.
As yet I have not seen the new label for Chateau L’Estran but the wine is reported as being more expensive than that sold under its former label . . . and presumably most of it is heading East.
