Château Angélus administration to end ‘as soon as family conflict resolved’
The Saint-Émilion producer entered judicial administration on 6 May, despite the business being “economically solid”, according to its main shareholder. The issues stem from an ongoing family feud, which needs to be squashed before Angélus can move forward. db reports.
Two warring families could cause the demise of one of Bordeaux’s great wine estates if they cannot resolve an ongoing conflict which has led the château to the administrator’s courtroom.
Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal (former chairwoman of the Château Angélus board) and Philippe Kellerson (former chairman of the estate’s advisory board) are on either side of the quarrelling families, with the friction leading to Angélus failing to nominate either board this year. Given the roadblock, both de Boüard-Rivoal and Kellerson have stepped down as chairpersons of their respective boards until the issues are ironed out.
While the cause of the dispute has not formally been revealed, it is thought to involve the estate’s management and future direction.
As such, the commercial court of Libourne appointed an administrator on 6 May, with the mandate valid for one year with the option for extension. The task of appointed administrator Sylvain Hustaix is to “bring together the family shareholder branches with a view to establishing lasting governance”. However, the court implied that this might be easier said than done, as “the dispute between the two groups of shareholders has continued for several years without finding a solution despite various attempts at conciliation”.
Who is at loggerheads?
The conflict involves two branches of the de Boüard family, with Hubert de Boüard de Laforest and his daughter Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal, who currently run the property, allegedly not seeing eye to eye with the Grenié de Boüard and Kellerson branches of the family (descended from Christian de Boüard).
Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal, the largest shareholder of the estate, has confirmed that she and her father Hubert will continue to lead the operational management of Château Angélus while the families consult with the administrator. de Boüard de Laforest sounded a hopeful note when he told French publication Vitisphere that “the arrival of an administrator greatly simplifies complicated family management due to lack of agreement. General meetings are more serene than they were six months ago.”
Echoing her father’s cautious optimism, de Boüard-Rivoal has intimated that the administrator’s task could end as soon as the family conflict is resolved. According to a statement made to the court, Château Angélus is economically solid, even though the family situation is “difficult” and has been so for the last 40 years.
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In July, Hubert de Boüard told the drinks business in an exclusive interview that Bordeaux producers need to “rebuild and reconnect with the people”, adding that this “has been completely destroyed in Bordeaux.”
Describing his winemaking approach, he said: “I am not iconoclastic; I am classic, but I try to understand what the consumer wants to drink, what I like to drink…”
Looking ahead
Following a relatively successful en primeur campaign this year, Angélus has recently invested further in worldwide distribution, suggesting a willingness and the financial means to move forward. The property is said to be working towards achieving a more balanced distribution of its wines across different markets, learning from past experiences, where certain regions such as Asia received a disproportionate amount of its production.
Angélus has also been staging exclusive vertical tastings in wealthy destinations such as Monaco, which db recently reported is becoming more of a priority for premium wine producers due to the sheer scale and spending power of the international visitors it attracts.
Speaking to Singapore publication a+, Stéphanie deBoüard-Rivoal said that she was happy with the progress Angélus is making. “The estate has grown through an ambitious land acquisition strategy, and we have launched new cuvees such as Hommage a Elisabeth Bouchet, an ultra-premium, limited-production Cabernet Franc made only in exceptional vintages, as well as Tempo d’Angelus, which exemplifies Bordeaux’s ability to produce affordable wines.”
The evolution follows the property famously withdrawing from the Saint-Émilion classification system in 2022 following a Bordeaux criminal court finding Hubert de Boüard guilty of an illegal ‘conflict of interest’ during the drawing up the classification of Saint-Émilion in 2012.
Fellow producers Cheval Blanc and Ausone had left the classification just months earlier, claiming that the evaluation criteria had become too far removed from the fundamental aspects of the region’s terroir, wine, and history.
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