Loading ...Chinese now own 100 Bordeaux chateaux, as wine mania grows
By Henry Samuel, Paris
6:11PM GMT 30 Jan 2015
A hundred Bordeaux châteaux are now in Chinese hands, underlining the Asian giant’s seemingly unquenchable thirst for property in the legendary French wine-making region.
The Chinese, who are now the principal export market for Bordeaux wines, ahead of Britain, started buying up the region’s châteaux in 2010, both to acquire status symbols and to meet growing domestic demand for its vintages.
The symbolic 100 chateau mark was reached when Chinese packaging millionaire James Zhou acquired Château Renon in Tabanac on the right bank of the Garonne river, in the Cadillac Côtes de Bordeaux region.
The 18th century château, bought for an undisclosed sum, came with 20 acres of vineyards and more than five hectares of parkland and gardens.
Weeks earlier, Chen Miaolin, billionaire founder of New Century Tourism Group, a luxury hotel and property company, snapped up Château de Birot, an 85-acre property with an 18th century mansion and around 60 acres of vines.