Two of the most significant luxury brands groups have recently announced acquisitions of Provencal Rosé producers. LVMH has just acquired a 55 per cent stake in Chateau d’Esclans and last month the Wertheimer brothers, owners of Chanel, announced their acquisition of Domaine de L’Ilie, a Provenacale Rosé produced on the Island of Porqueroles.
Chanel’s acquisition will place Domaine de L’ile Rosé alongside St Emilion based Chateau Canon and Margaux’s Chateau Rauzan Segla amongst others in the luxury brand portfolio. Chanel’s wine maker, Nicolas Audebert will oversee the production at the 34 hectare estate which has been farmed organically since 1980.
LVMH have added probably the most famous Rosé labels to their portfolio with the acquisition of d’Esclans which produces a number of market leaders including Garrus, which was, at its height so far, the most expensive still Rosé wine, and Provencal favourites, Whispering Angel and Rock Angel. These wines will now sit alongside Dom Perignon, Krug, Moet & Chandon and Hennessy within the luxury brands group. D’Esclans certainly oozes style in its marketing and product presentation – you can see why this elegant collection of Rosé s caught Chanel’s eye.
Sacha Lichine, who sold a 5 per cent stake in the transaction to LVMH, is staying involved and Philippe Schaus, CEO of Moet Hennessy has commented that “Sacha Lichine revolutionised the world of Provence Rosé wine and its international development, displaying the soundness of vision of a man with strong convictions and values. Moet Hennessy will bring the full support of our worldwide teams to assist Sacha Lichine to continue this marvellous adventure.”
The LVMH coffers have been working hard this Autumn as the group also recently announced its acquisition of the American jeweller, Tiffany & Co., famed for its little blue boxes and breakfast with Audrey! With a price tag of around £11billion, this is the largest acquisition in terms of spend made in LVMH’s history to date. The Tiffany brand will now share stable space alongside Bulgari, Dior, Givenchy, and two of the most high profile fine wine brands; St Emilion Grand Cru Classe A, Chateau Cheval Blanc and Sauterne’s only ranked First Growth, Chateau d’Yquem.
There has been consideration in the trade for a while that Provence’s Rosés, thought to be the most sought after, will warrant classification or certainly some means to guide the consumer in time. It is certainly interesting to see where the luxury brands are positioning themselves in this space.
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