Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite (DBR Lafite), owner of the prestige, first-growth Bordeaux estate Château Lafite Rothschild, has acquired Chablis producer Domaine William Fèvre for an undisclosed sum.
The deal was set in motion last year when DBR Lafite entered into exclusive ownership talks with Artémis Domaines, which had absorbed ownership of Domaine William Fèvre in 2022 in a winery merger deal with Champagne Henriot.
As part of the deal, DBR Lafite will overtake ownership of Domaine William Fèvre’s 70 hectare estate, which includes approximately 90 vineyard plots with Grand Cru, Premier Cru, and Chablis village classifications. Domaine William Fèvre was founded in 1957.
“The spirit of the place and its team, deeply rooted in the land they cultivate, the on-the-ground approach to organic and environmental viticulture, and the precise yet low-interventionist approach to winemaking in the cellar, are values which fit in perfectly with our long term values,” said Saskia de Rothschild, CEO and chairperson of DBR Lafite, in a release. “We look forward to progressing together with Didier Séguier and his team, on the road to great white wines.”
The acquisition marks the wine group’s first venture into Burgundy, though Domaine William Fèvre will join a number of estates under the DBR Lafite umbrella including Château Duhart-Milon, Château L’Evangile, and Château Rieussec in Bordeaux, Domaine d’Aussières in the Languedoc region, Bodega Caro in Argentina, Domaine de Long Dai in China, and Viña Los Vascos in Chile.
“We are delighted with the arrival of DBR Lafite. It’s a strength to be able to draw on the knowledge of such a family of vineyards to exchange ideas and move our projects forward,” said Didier Séguir, director of Domaine William Fèvre. “There’s a strong fit between who we are and the projects they’ve been developing for 150 years in their vineyards.”
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