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June 10, 2016
Chinese
billionaire Jack Ma, the founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, has
snapped up two historic French vineyards for nearly 12 million euros
($13.56 million).
Ma
bought the Chateau Guerry and the Chateau Perenne, dating back to the
18th century, in the heart of the fabled Bordeaux wine-growing region.
Their
owner, French wine magnate Bernard Magrez, confirmed the sale to AFP
late Thursday after the transaction was reported by the British
specialised magazine Decanter.
The
Chateau Perenne is spread over 64 hectares (158 acres) in the Blaye
Cotes-de-Bourg appellation, producing about 500,000 bottles of red and
white wine annually.
Chateau
Guerry is the oldest estate in the Cotes de Bourg appellation,
producing 84,000 bottles of red a year over about 20 ha. (50 acres).
The
purchases add to the Chateau de Sours vineyard, which Ma bought in
Bordeaux' Entre-Deux-Mers wine region in February. It includes a
magnificent 18th-century country house.
Magrez
told AFP that the sale of the estates were part of a "strategy to move
away from entry-level Bordeaux wines" to top-level appellations, as wine
classifications are called.
More
than 100 properties in France's southwest wine-producing area are today
owned by Chinese tycoons looking to diversify their fortunes. This
makes up 1.5 per cent of the region's 7,000 vineyards.
Part
of the appeal for the Chinese is the status that comes with possessing a
noble French chateau as part of their wine-growing property.
China is the biggest consumer of red wine in the world and remains the top export market for Bordeaux.
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