Distell offloads Plaisir de Merle estate

South African drinks group Distell has sold the respected Plaisir de Merle estate to the Jordaan family, owners of Bartinney Wine Estate, for an undisclosed sum.

The Simonsberg-Paarl-based property has been owned by Distell for the past 45 years. New owner, Michael Jordaan, the former CEO of First National Bank and now head of Montegray Capital, will take ownership on 1 April 2021. Details of the transaction have not yet been disclosed.

Jordaan and his wife Rose also own and run Bartinney Wine Estate in the neighbouring region of Banhoek Valley.

Plaisir de Merle is a large estate spanning 961 hectares in total, 400ha of which are under vine, while the cellar can handle up to 1,000 tonnes of fruit.

Originally founded by French Huguenot Charles Marais in 1693 and famed for its Cape Dutch architecture, Plaisir de Merle is a highly regarded estate at which the late Paul Pontallier of Château Margaux consulted in the 1990s.

Neighbouring estates include Babylonstoren and Rupert & Rothschild, all owned by extremely wealthy media and financial moguls, making this corner of Paarl/Franschhoek something of a “billionaire’s row” as wine writer Michael Fidjhon noted on a local radio show.