The big boys are moving into premier French wine regions

Both Louis Jadot and E.Guigal have been snapping up properties in some of Frances finest wine regions.

Louis Jadot purchased Domaine Prieur-Brunet, securing 18 hectares of prime Cote de Beaune including Grand Cru vineyards in Bâtard-Montrachet and a number of Premier Cru sites.

While Maison E.Guigal has purchased Domain de Nalys’s 50 hectare estate in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Both purchases are considered a rarity where it is difficult to acquire quality vineyard sites.

Louis Jadot is best known as a negotiant buying grapes to make their wines rather than owning vineyards. However a move by more estates in Burgundy to bottle their own wine has put pressure to acquire more vineyards.

Maison E.Guigal, the Northern Rhone power house, has been a negotiant in Châteauneuf-du-Pape since 1946 but this is their first vineyard purchase in the region.

No mention of price was available but land in Châteauneuf-du-Pape is expensive and some experts predict that the price may have been as high as €45m for the 50Ha, with vineyards in Burgundy worth even more per hectare.