Chateau de Malle in Sauternes is for sale, decanter.com can reveal – for the astonishing price of €68m.
The chateau appeared anonymously in UK broadsheet the Financial Times last Saturday, advertised by a small estate agency Maxwell Storrie Baynes.
The advert caused a good deal of speculation, simply announcing ‘World class Bordeaux vineyard’, one that is ‘consistently in the top 3 in its class’ and ‘praised by Robert Parker’.
The fact that Parker had praised it ruled out many right bank properties, including Troplong Mondot, which has been on and off the market for years.
Privately, Bordeaux estate agents are astonished by the price, which they consider perhaps double what the estate is worth.
Chateau Guiraud, a higher-ranking Sauternes property, was bought by Stephane von Neipperg of Canon la Gaffeliere and the Peugeot family in 2005 for €50m.
‘We are in a financial crisis,’ one veteran agent told decanter.com, ‘and Sauternes is a difficult region to sell anyway. We have a lot of demand for properties in St Emilion, Pomerol and cru classe Medoc, but not for Sauternes.’
He added the price was ‘completely crazy.’
Chateau de Malle is described in Feret’s Bordeaux and its Wines as ‘a magnificent c17th chateau’ renowned for its Italianate interior and gardens.
In a Sauternes and Barsac tasting, Decanter described the 2005 Chateau de Malle as ‘one of the most consistent performers among the 2eme crus since 1990. The nose was still very unevolved, but the wine shows well-integrated richness and fruit but only medium weight; stylish and fine.’
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Written by Adam Lechmere
