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WINE

Hong Kong firm swallows Médoc estate

Asian duty-free specialist King Power has acquired the Bordeaux wine estate Château Bernadotte from Champagne Louis Roederer for an undisclosed sum, the company said on Thursday.

King Power, which has offices in Hong Kong and Bangkok, also has investments in food and beverages, including wine interests in China, real estate, manufacturing, sports, brand development and leisure.

The acquisition of Chateau Bernadotte marks a new departure for the company, broadening its drinks and retail strategy, while capitalising on a synergy between its various activities.

Château Bernadotte operates a 40-hectare vineyard in Bordeaux's prestigious Médoc region, producing 200,000 bottles a year.

It is ranked as a Cru Bourgeois, below the level of classed growth wines but still considered to be of good quality. A bottle of a recent vintage would retail at the cellar door for around 10 euros ($13).

The property was acquired by Roederer in 2007 when the Champagne family bought second growth Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande.

Roederer has invested millions in renovating and improving their Bordeaux properties, but this is the second estate it has let go, following the sale of Château Reaut to a group of investors.

Originating in Hong Kong, King Power is a major player in the duty free sector across Asia. It operates a retail network carrying an extensive portfolio of top drawer brands, including Cartier, La Perla and Godiva.

In 2006, the group acquired French costume jewellery chain Agatha.
 
In the drinks business, it already distributes brands including Hennessey, Remy-Martin, Courvoisier, Dom Perignon, and Bordeaux first growths Château Lafite-Rothschild and Château Mouton-Rothschild.

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FARMING

Cold snap ‘could slash French wine harvest by 30 percent’

A rare cold snap that froze vineyards across much of France this month could see harvest yields drop by around a third this year, France's national agriculture observatory said on Thursday.

Cold snap 'could slash French wine harvest by 30 percent'
A winemaker checks whether there is life in the buds of his vineyard in Le Landreau, near Nantes in western France, on April 12th, following several nights of frost. Photo: Sebastien SALOM-GOMIS / AFP

Winemakers were forced to light fires and candles among their vines as nighttime temperatures plunged after weeks of unseasonably warm weather that had spurred early budding.

Scores of vulnerable fruit and vegetable orchards were also hit in what Agriculture Minister Julien Denormandie called “probably the greatest agricultural catastrophe of the beginning of the 21st century.”

IN PICTURES: French vineyards ablaze in bid to ward off frosts

The government has promised more than €1 billion in aid for destroyed grapes and other crops.

Based on reported losses so far, the damage could result in up to 15 million fewer hectolitres of wine, a drop of 28 to 30 percent from the average yields over the past five years, the FranceAgriMer agency said.

That would represent €1.5 to €2 billion of lost revenue for the sector, Ygor Gibelind, head of the agency’s wine division, said by videoconference.

It would also roughly coincide with the tally from France’s FNSEA agriculture union.

Prime Minister Jean Castex vowed during a visit to damaged fields in southern France last Saturday that the emergency aid would be made available in the coming days to help farmers cope with the “exceptional situation.”

READ ALSO: ‘We’ve lost at least 70,000 bottles’ – French winemakers count the cost of late frosts

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