troplong mondot, boreaux restaurant
Troplong Mondot's Les Belles Perdrix restaurant, opened in 2013 and gaining a Michelin star in 2016.
(Image credit: Troplong Mondot)

St-Emilion's highly rated Château Troplong Mondot has been sold to French insurance company Scor in a week of deals on Bordeaux's Right Bank, with Moueix family-owned Bélair-Monange also agreeing to buy two estates. Reporting by Chris Mercer in London and Yohan Castaing in Bordeaux.

  • Troplong Mondot sold to insurance group Scor for unknown fee

  • Moueix family-backed Château Bélair-Monange agrees to buy Clos La Madeleine and Château Magnan La Gaffelière

  • In Cadillac further south, Château Fauchey sold to Hong Kong investor

  • Several more potential deals in the pipeline

Troplong Mondot deal

Scor has become the latest French insurance group to own a high-profile Bordeaux winery after news broke that it had bought Château Troplong Mondot, the St-Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classé B estate, from the Valette-Pariente family.

A fee was not disclosed but it would likely have been at the higher end of the St-Emilion value scale.

French land agency ‘Safer’ said last year that St-Emilion vineyard prices ranged from 200,000 euros per hectare up to 2.5 million euros per hectare, depending on the site. Demand was outstripping supply, according to property consultancy Vineyard Intelligence.

See Jane Anson’s tasting note and rating for Troplong Mondot 2016

Xavier Pariente said that he would remain in charge at Troplong Mondot for the next three months, when Scor will appoint a new CEO.

Troplong Mondot has 33 hectares of vines, with 90% planted to Merlot, 8% to Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% to Cabernet Franc.

Clos La Madeleine and Magnan La Gaffelière

Separately, the Moueix family, headed by Christian Moueix and owner of some great domaines such as Trotanoy, Lagrange La Fleur-Pétrus and Latour à Pomerol, is set to add two new properties to its portfolio.

The family has agreed to buy Clos La Madeleine, a St-Emilion Grand Cru Classé, and Château Magnan La Gaffelière, a St-Emilion Grand Cru, via its existing ownership of Château Bélair-Monange.

‘The acquisition is in progress, we are waiting for the legal processes to be completed,’ Christian Moueix told Decanter.com.

With only 2.3 hectares, Clos La Madeleine is closest to Bélair-Monange and Château Ausone on the limestone plateau of St-Emilion and planted with 76% Merlot and 24% Cabernet Franc.

It was previously owned by more than 80 investors managed by Société Générale, a French bank and investment company.

Château Magnan La Gaffelière is a larger domaine with ‘a lot of plots’ covering 10 hectares, said Christian Moueix.

‘The terroirs are very diverse and very different to Bélair-Monange,’ he said.

‘For this reason we want to keep them separate from Château Bélair-Monange even if the acquisition was made by Bélair-Monange.’

As with all wines from the Moueix family, the wines will be distributed by Etablissements JP Moueix.

More deals in the wine world so far this year:

Château Fauchey in Cadillac Côtes de Bordeaux.

Château Fauchey in Cadillac Côtes de Bordeaux.
(Image credit: Fauchey)

Bordeaux’s Château Fauchey sold to Hong Kong investor

HK-based private club owner buys Bordeaux winery...

Château Haut-Batailley vineyards, bordeaux

Château Haut-Batailley vineyards. The estate was bought by the owners of Pauillac neighbour Lynch-Bages in 2017, but the price was not disclosed.
(Image credit: Haut-Batailley)

Bordeaux: Lynch-Bages owner buys Haut-Batailley

Deal confirmed after weeks of rumours...

Poggio Antico sold

Typically Tuscan view from Poggio Antico, the hilltop town of Montalcino in the distance.
(Image credit: Credit Unknown)

Brunello di Montalcino estate Poggio Antico sold to Belgian investors

Belgian energy investment company buys top Tuscan wine...

biondi santi, brunello di montalcino

(Image credit: Franco Biondi Santi)

Biondi Santi sale to Charles Heidsieck Champagne owner took six months

EPI Group buys majority stake in Brunello di Montalcino maker...

Schrader sale to Constellation

Schrader wines
(Image credit: schradercellars.com/)

Schrader sale to Constellation: Why no one should be surprised

Part of a larger acquisition trend in US wine...

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.