Abrau-Durso group sold champagne house in France

Abrau-Durso, a group of companies belonging to the family of business ombudsman Boris Titov, Abrau-Durso, has decided to sell the French champagne house Chateau d’Avize, which it has owned since 2010. This was announced by the group’s president Pavel Titov, writes RBC.

According to Titov, the asset was sold back in January 2022. The amount of the transaction, as well as the name of the new owner, were not disclosed. It is only known that it turned out to be a local winemaker. This decision was made against the background of the difficulties of working in the region, Titov specified, but did not give details.

Chateau d’Avize is located in the province of Champagne in the north-east of France, it was founded in the 19th century in the commune of Avize. Until 2009, it belonged to the French group LVMH (Moët & Chandon, Hennessy, Bacardi Limited), in 2010 the estate was sold to the Russian wine house Abrau-Durso. According to information on the company’s website, the winery has 2 hectares of vineyards and also produces organic Foliage champagne.

In addition, Chateau d’Avize now produces two more brands of champagne: Chateau d’Avize and Titov & Fils (“Titov and Son” – French). The last brand remained assigned to the Titov family, said the president of the group. According to him, under the terms of the deal, the new owner of the estate will continue to produce this champagne and supply it to Russia, but the supply of this product may be difficult due to sanctions that prohibit the export of wine to Russia for more than 300 euros per bottle.

In 2010, the cost of Chateau d’Avize was estimated at 5-10 million euros, and about 10-12 million euros were required to be invested in development over a five-year period. Now it is difficult to assess the value of the asset, writes RBC. According to the publication, land for vineyards in Champagne is sold much more expensive than in other regions of France. In particular, the publication cites data from the French real estate agency Barnes Properties and Chateaux for November 2022, according to which 1 hectare of vineyards in Champagne will cost 864,000 euros, while in Burgundy and Bordeaux their cost will be 158,700 and 97,600 euros, respectively. .