Bellevue de Tayac
Bellevue de Tayac
(Image credit: Bellevue de Tayac)

Jean-Luc Thunevin has sold his four-hectare Chateau Bellevue de Tayac in AOC Margaux, in order to pay off debt and focus on his remaining right bank estates.

Wine investment group GFV Saint Vincent Bellevue de Tayac has bought the Cru Bourgeois estate (pictured). The price was around €4m, Thunevin’s assistant, Cecile Montsec, told Decanter.com.

The new owner has in-turn entrusted day-to-day operations to the family of Vincent Fabre, which already makes Cru Bourgeois in the Medoc, including at Château La Tonnelle and Chateau Landat.

‘It’s not only the Chinese or insurance companies or those on the CAC40 [France’s FTSE100 equivalent] who buy vines in Bordeaux’s top appellations,’ Thunevin said on his blog. ‘A lot of deals are simply winemakers looking to expand or diversify.’

Thunevin, who bought Bellevue de Tayac back in 2004, said that some of the proceeds will be used to repay bank debts.

The rest will be put into his remaining estates, mainly in Bordeaux’s right bank, which include Chateau Valandraud, a St Emilion 1er Grand Cru Classe, as well as St Emilion Grand Cru estates Clos Badon Thunevin, Prieure Lescours and Bel Air Ouy, plus Clos du Beau Pere in Pomerol.

Written by Chris Mercer

Chris Mercer
Chris Mercer

Chris Mercer is a Bristol-based freelance editor and journalist who spent nearly four years as digital editor of Decanter.com, having previously been Decanter’s news editor across online and print.

He has written about, and reported on, the wine and food sectors for more than 10 years for both consumer and trade media.

Chris first became interested in the wine world while living in Languedoc-Roussillon after completing a journalism Masters in the UK. These days, his love of wine commonly tests his budgeting skills.

Beyond wine, Chris also has an MSc in food policy and has a particular interest in sustainability issues. He has also been a food judge at the UK’s Great Taste Awards.