Pinault buys Rhone property

Château Latour owner François Pinault has bought Château Grillet in the northern Rhône from the Baratin-Canet family, the owners since 1830.

The acquisition adds what has been described as “truly one of the great white wines of France”, to the portfolio of Pinault’s company Artemis.

Artemis already includes Domaine d’Eugenie in Burgundy, Christie’s auctioneers and Rennes football club.

Situated next to the AOC of Condrieu, the 3.5 hectare Grillet estate is a monopole and although it too uses Viognier, it is considered its very own appellation.

Winemaker Denis Dubourdieu, who was hired in 2001 and is widely acknowledged to have sorted out the estate after a series of inconsistent vintages in the 1990s, will stay on and Latour’s marketing director, Frederic Engerer will extend his role of managing Pinault’s other estates to include Grillet.

Rupert Millar, 17.03.2011