While a fee hasn’t been disclosed, the purchase, which is planned to be completed by the end of April, will see Château Petit-Village and its 11ha, including 10.4ha under vine move from corporate ownership into the family-run Beauregard portfolio.
Beauregard has been owned since 2014 by the Moulin family, who also own French department store Galleries Layfette, with a minority shareholding by the Cathiards of Château Smith Haut Lafitte. They also own Château Pavillon Beauregard in Lalande de Pomerol.
Commenting on the announcement, Augstin Belloy, co-general manager of Château Beauregard declared that the transaction would enable the property to ‘reinforce our long-term commitment’ in Pomerol.
‘Over the past five years, the teams from Château Beauregard have actively worked to develop the quality, the production in certified organic agriculture, and the reputation of the property to establish its position as one of the premier grand crus of the clay and gravel plateau of Pomerol.
‘AXA Millesimes has also achieved a remarkable transformation of Château Petit-Village, which has become one of the principal players in the region. We are therefore delighted today to be able to accompany the property in a new phase of its development.’
Christian Seely, Managing Director of AXA Millésimes, based at Château Pichon Baron in Pauillac, also commented: ‘The sale of Château Petit-Village is part of a process of reallocation of the resources of AXA Millésimes with the aim of diversifying our vineyard investments.
‘This process had already begun in 2018 with our acquisition of the Outpost vineyard on Howell Mountain in Napa Valley, and also with our acquisition in 2019 of Quinta do Passadouro in the Douro, neighbour of our great vineyard at Quinta do Noval.
‘We are happy to have found in Château Beauregard a new owner for Château Petit-Village, who will continue the long-term pursuit of quality in which we have been engaged since our acquisition of Château Petit-Village in 1989.’
It has been confirmed that the sale includes stock and the total team in place at Petit-Village will be kept on.
The estate was last set for sale in 2002 before a deal worth €45m (£29m) fell through. Poor market conditions were blamed for an initial delay, and subsequent cancellation of the agreement between AXA and Bordeaux proprietor Gérard Perse, who owns Château Pavie, Monbousquet, Pavie-Decesse, Bellevue-Mondotte and two properties in Côtes de Castillon.
Although the current sale price was not disclosed, according to the latest figures from French land agency Safer in 2019, vineyard prices in Pomerol could sell for up to €3.6m per hectare while the cheapest might fetch €1.2m. This would value Château Petit-Village’s land for between €13.2m and €39.6m before taking into account stock and associated assets.
