COGNAC VINEYARDS PRICES ARE UP A LITTLE

French vineyard sales up 2.8% in 2017

Source:

https://www.vitisphere.com/

June 04 2018

The French market for vineyards is still buoyant with an increase in trade. Prices have risen irrespective of whether the vineyards are within an appellation area or not, or eligible to produce appellation brandies.

In 2017, the vineyard market was bullish with sales progressing well. A total 9,460 transactions (+2.8%) were finalised covering 16,900 ha (+7.9%) worth 1.3 billion euros (+59.9%). "Bought and sold acreage is at its highest level for the past 25 years," commented Loïc Jégouzo, from Terres d'Europe-Scafr, on 31 May in Paris at a press conference by the Safer network on land prices. The spectacular increase in values can be ascribed to the sale of several prestigious estates. "Ten transactions alone represent 31% of the total market value", said Jégouzo. But even if these transactions are excluded, value sales are still on the rise.

Champagne slowdown

From a price perspective, increases were posted across-the-board. In appellation or PDO vineyards, the average price is 143,900 euro/ha, a rise of 2.3% compared to 2016. "But if Champagne is excluded, the increase is much more marked: + 4.2% (Editor's note: at an average price of 69,300 euro /ha), because Champagne only rose by 0.8% in 2017", explained Jégouzo. All wine regions have progressed except Corsica. The highest increases were observed in Alsace (+7.2%), Burgundy (+4.9%), the Rhone Valley and Provence (+5.5%). "The most prestigious AOCs have continued to increase and are driving up the prices of intermediate AOCs," noted Jégouzo. The price of vines for appellation brandies has soared by 8.1% to 46,900 euro /ha. "The increase is due to record levels of Cognac exports", he said. The price of vineyards outside appellation areas increased by 3% to 13,800 euro /ha.

BAD HAILSTORMS IN COGNAC AND DAMAGES IN SOUTH-WEST REGION

Hailstones 'the size of pigeon eggs' devastate Bordeaux vineyards

Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/
David Chazan
27 MAY 2018

Hailstorms have devastated thousands of acres of prime Bordeaux vineyards, prompting the French government to promise support for winegrowers, some of whom have lost their entire crop.
Cyril Giresse, a winegrower, said hailstones "the size of pigeons' eggs" destroyed grape buds and left vines bare on Saturday.

"The storm lasted only about 15 minutes, but in some places, there's nothing left at all," said Mr Giresse, who runs the Château Gravettes Samonac in Bordeaux's Côtes de Bourg appellation. "No leaves, no grapes, just the vines stripped as if the grapes had all been picked."
Jean-Dominique Château, another claret producer, said: "I've got nothing left. I've been growing grapes for 33 years and this is the worst storm I've ever seen. Last year we lost 40 per cent of our crop to hail but this year it's going to be an even worse disaster."

Stéphane Travert, the agriculture minister, said the government was assessing the extent of losses and would aid wine producers. "We'll take the necessary measures and we're ready to meet Bordeaux winemakers," he said.

Franck Jullion, the head of the producers' association in the "Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux" appellation, said: "It's a desolate vista, as if the vines had gone back to winter. Estates hit by frost last year will not recover. We're going to need a lot of support and solidarity."
Saint-Emilion, one of the most prestigious Bordeaux appellations, was spared, but parts of Médoc were badly hit, as were Cognac brandy producers in the Charente and Charente-Maritime departments.

Didier Gontier, director of the Côtes de Bourg appellation, said: "Winegrowers say they've got no vines left for next year so this is going to affect two years of production."
Bordeaux is France's largest wine-growing area, with about 300,000 acres of vineyards producing more than 700 million bottles of claret a year, ranging from cheap table wines to some of the world's most acclaimed and expensive vintages.

French wine and spirits exports amounted to more than £11 billion last year.
Wine industry leaders have opposed moves to tighten 1991 laws restricting alcohol advertising. President Emmanuel Macron has backed them, saying he drinks wine at lunch and dinner.
He has infuriated doctors by minimising public health concerns over wine and arguing that spirits and beer pose more of a problem because they are favoured by binge-drinkers.

FANCY A VINEYARD IN BEVERLY HILLS

A house listed on the market this month in Beverly Hills, Calif., has set a new U.S. record with an asking price of $195 million. Called Palazzo di Amore and owned by real estate investor Jeff Greene, the estate includes 60,000 square feet of residences, pools, tennis courts and a working vineyard within its 25 acres.

Beverly Hills Mansion with Vineyards

Listing agents at Coldwell Banker Preview International report that the estate’s Beverly Hills Vineyards produces close to 500 cases of wine annually—none of it sold commercially—in such classic varietals as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Sangiovese.

Barrels and bottles are housed within multiple cellars on the property. Vineyards are not unknown in the area: a year ago media mogul Rupert Murdoch paid nearly $29 million for the old Moraga Vineyards in neighboring Bel Air, whose Bordeaux varietal wines are regularly featured at upscale local restaurants and clubs.

Source: Joyce Rey