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French Insurance Firm Bought Bordeaux's Calon-Ségur

Jean-François Moueix helps engineer $212.5 million deal; buys minority share

 

Bordeaux third-growth Château Calon-Ségur has been sold to Suravenir, the life-insurance subsidiary of French banking group Credit Mutuel Arkea, for an estimated $212.5 million. Videlot, a Bordeaux wine group owned by Jean-François Moueix, is a minority partner in the deal. The purchase agreement was signed June 29 and the buyers expect to finalize the sale in November. 

The purchase includes 235 acres in St.-Estèphe, encompassing Calon-Ségur, second label Marquis de Calon and a cru bourgeois property, Capbern-Gasqueton. This is the most prominent of several Bordeaux properties to recently change hands, largely due to inheritance taxes and family disagreements.

The estate was sold by Hélène de Baritault du Carpia and her nieces Agnes Florisoone and Sophie de Mascarel de la Corbière. The future of Calon-Ségur has been in question since the death of proprietor Denise Capbern-Gasqueton in September 2011 at the age of 87. The formidable Madame Gasqueton, as she was known, had run the estate with passion and a firm hand since the death of her husband in 1995. Calon-Ségur's wines earned high praise during that time, but she was a divisive figure in the family, which has owned the estate since the late 19th century.

Credit Mutuel Arkea has been looking to diversify its investment portfolio with a vineyard acquisition for some time. "We consider Calon-Ségur a long-term investment that will gain in value and we are here to be a stable, long-term investor. There is no plan to resell the property in 10 years or anything like that," Credit Mutuel Arkea spokesperson Florence Eckenschwiller told Wine Spectator.

This is the first vineyard investment for Brittany-based Credit Mutuel Arkea, and for this reason executives were happy to allow Moueix to buy a small stake in exchange for not only helping organize the deal, but gaining access to his experience. "Mr. Moueix will participate in all decisions related to running the estate. We consider him and his expertise a guarantee for success," said Eckenschwiller.

Moueix—the current owner of Pomerol’s famed Château Pétrus, négociant Duclot and a wine retail chain in France—was unavailable for comment, but Credit Mutuel Arkea confirmed that Moueix had provided the same service at Calon-Ségur that he had at Château Montrose.

In 2006, when Château Montrose’s then-owner, Jean-Louis Charmolüe, decided to sell, Jean-Francois Moueix brought billionaires Martin and Olivier Bouygues to the table. At the time, Jean-Francois and his brother, Christian Moueix (owner of Right Bank châteaus such as Trotanoy and La Fleur-Pétrus), acquired minority stakes in Montrose.

Calon-Ségur has a rich pedigree, once among the properties owned by the "Prince of Vines," Nicolas-Alexandre, the Marquis de Ségur—along with châteaus Lafite, Latour, Mouton-Rothschild, Pontet-Canet, d'Armailhac and Montrose. The château passed through various owners in the late-18th and 19th centuries, until it was purchased by Georges Gasqueton of Château Capbern-Gasqueton in 1894. However, Calon-Ségur's iconic heart-shaped label remains a reminder of the Marquis' assertion that, "I make my wine at Lafite and Latour, but my heart is in Calon."

 

Suzanne Mustacich

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History

Perhaps because it is one of the oldest estates in the Médoc, or perhaps because its most emblematic owner, the Marquis de Ségur, built an absolute legend around Calon.

Historians date the origins of Calon back to the Gallo-Roman era. Its name is derived from the term “calones”, which were small transport boats that travelled up and down the Gironde estuary. Wine growing at the estate can be traced back to the 12th century, but it was in the 18th century, at the time of Nicolas-Alexandre the Marquis de Ségur, who also owned Latour, Lafite and Mouton, that the finest chapter of the property’s history was written. Calon thereafter was to be known as Calon Ségur.

 

The estate acquired the rank of Third Classified Growth in the famous 1855 classification. From 1894 to 2012, Calon’s owners, the Gasqueton family, preserved the estate’s identity with sobriety and elegance.

Today, Château Calon Ségur and Château Capbern Gasqueton, are owned by the Suravenir company, subsidiary of the banking group Crédit Mutuel Arkéa headed by Jean-Pierre Denis. The insurance company joined forces with the Videlot group. Together, they are leading an extensive programme of renovation, which will at the same time carefully preserve the estate’s historic values

 

Make no mistake, Jean-Pierre Denis’s succumbing to the charms of Calon Ségur was, above all, the carefully thought-through decision of a bank that operates in the real economy and chooses to invest for the long term. This businessman, however, is no stranger to the world of wine. He first developed an interest in wine at the age of 35. “A late conversion but sincere and complete”, he says. As much a collector as a winelover, he has a preference for the wines of Bordeaux.

 

To manage the estate, he has chosen Laurent Dufau, a Médocain born and bred, and the grandson of a wine-grower. For Laurent Dufau, it is an exciting challenge both on a technical and a human level, and he is supported at the estate by a committed team, loyal to the spirit of Calon.

The technical management remains in the hands of Vincent Millet, who was recruited by Denise Gasqueton in 2006. When first taking up his new post, he set about defining an ambitious restructuring of the vineyard. His professional mission is to bring out the quintessential character of this historic terroir.

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Vineyards

Fifty-five hectares (136 acres) at the time of the 1855 classification, fifty-five hectares today: the estate is a rare example of consistency of terroir over the centuries.

The vineyard is made up of one single block adjacent to the village of Saint-Estèphe. Unique in the Médoc, it is completely surrounded by a stone wall. Inside, closest to the château, this “enclos” groups together the most famous plots of Calon.

There are very few geological models that can be compared with the terroir of Calon Ségur. The vines delve down into a deep gravel layer that was deposited there by the river. This layer covers another which is predominantly clay. This combination of clay and gravel soils is one of the main reasons for the power and finesse displayed in the wines of Calon Ségur.

Cabernet Sauvignon is the backbone of Calon Ségur. This grape variety makes up over three-quarters of the blend, and in great years its proportion can be as high as 90%.

No great wines can ever be made without constant and meticulous care of the vines. The soils are ploughed in the time-honoured tradition. From spring to autumn, vine canopy management tasks are done by large numbers of vineyard personnel. The crop is picked by hand at perfect ripeness.

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Winemaking

On this superb Saint-Estèphe terroir, power is a given. There’s no need to add any more.
The cellarmaster’s job is to preserve the softness in the tannins, the freshness of flavour and the natural character in the aromas. In short, he must respect the raw material picked from the vines. The wine is aged in new oak barrels for 18 to 20 months. Fining with natural egg whites was reintroduced a few years ago.

 

The Grand Vin of Calon Ségur is the mirror image of its terroir: rare, authentic, moving. With great ease, it reveals both lovely softness and amazing intensity. All the magic of Calon is in this balance.

The Second Wine : Marquis de Calon
The estate’s Second Wine is a different expression of the Calon terroir. With an average proportion of 75% Merlot in the blend, it is enjoyable to drink in the immediate term and exhibits a warm and velvety character. It is aged in barrels, a third of which are new, for up to 18 months.

 

APPELLATION Saint-Estèphe.
Third classified Growth in 1855.
CONSULTANT  Éric Boissenot.
SOIL A thick layer of gravel laid down during the Quaternary Period. Predominantly clay 
sub-soil from the Tertiary Period. At the summit of the gravel deposits, there is also 
a fine layer of clay of lacustrine origin.
VINEYARD AREA 55 ha (136 acres).
AREA IN PRODUCTION 45 ha (50 ha planted).
GRAPE VARIETIES 53% Cabernet sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 7% Cabernet franc, 2% petit Verdot.
AVERAGE AGE OF THE VINES 22 years.
TRAINING METHOD Double Guyot.
PLANTING DENSITY 8,000 vines/ha.
TARGET YIELD 45 hl/ha.
HARVEST Hand picking. A first selection of grapes on the vine. Mechanical sorting of the grapes by vibration, followed by hand sorting.
VINIFICATION Temperature-controlled conical stainless-steel tanks. Maceration for 18 to 21 days.
AGEING 18 to 20 months, 30% new barrels. 
Fining with egg white.
AVERAGE ANNUAL PRODUCTION Around 80,000 bottles.
 
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Inside information

No great wine is made without constant care and attention in the vineyard. 
From spring to autumn, the human factor in the vines is essential. 

Winter
Throughout winter, the bases of the vines are earthed up to keep them warm (chaussage). After the pruning, the vines are helped to grow upright by being tied with wicker to a tutor (acanage). The two canes of the vine are gently bent and tied to the tight wire running along the row (pliage).

Spring
The earth protecting the bases of the vines is moved away to the centre of the row (déchaussage). With milder weather in April, the vines produce their first leaves. Superfluous buds are then removed (ébourgeonnage) along with the sucker shoots on the trunks (épamprage). Then, with the shoots starting to grow in every direction, it is time to direct them into an upright position and tuck them between the two upper wires.

Summer
Another chaussage/déchaussage ploughing is then programmed. The “quatre façons” ploughing method (two chaussage ploughings and two déchaussage ploughings), along with a working of the soil under the rows, enables weed growth to be eliminated and breaks up any superficial vine roots, thereby forcing the vines to delve deeper for their nourishment. The “quatre façons” also favours aeration and microbial life in the soils. And there’s still more work to be done. The top of the vine canopy needs to be trimmed (écimage), leaves need to be removed around the fruit to ventilate the bunches (effeuillage) and depending on the size of the crop-load, some bunches may need to be cut away in order to enhance the ripening of the grapes (éclaircissage). The smaller bunches growing above the main ones are also cut away (grapillonnage). This work enables an even ripening and limits the risk of outbreaks of grey rot.  

Autumn
As the harvest approaches, the grapes are analysed and tasted every day plot by plot until they have reached perfect ripeness. The crop then needs to be harvested quickly, which is the reason why the estate takes on up to 120 grape pickers. The harvest always finishes in high spirits. When a vintage is being born, it erases all the moments of doubt and the memories of pleas for help from above. It is the ultimate reward for a year of patience and work.

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3 different wines with 96 vintages

People

  • Nicolas-Alexandre, Marquis de Ségur (1697-1755)

    "I make wine at Lafite and Latour, but my heart is at Calon.”
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