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Four wheels move the body - 2 wheels move the soul.

Thank you for posting this Link Ba,

I didn't know the big acquisitions were going on in Blaye, Castillon and Cadillac. These appelations producing good affordable clarets, and lovely sweet wines, cloning Barsac, a stone's throw across the river from Graves in the south, where the Gironde is less wide.

That does explain why we dont see so much from the Cotes de Blaye etcetera, which are very nice wines. Under investment there since before the 80's means that the Chinese businessmen are not paying the very steep goodwill multiples for the prestige properties just five killometers or so to the west.
The terroir and very slightly warmer climate in Blaye, Bourg, and Castillon in the south, are quite good performers even in lack lustre years. The Chinese businessmen are pretty cute, they are moving in where they can produce a very acceptable claret for their markets at home.

Those smaller firms who are running a couperage business in that particular region, are probably better-off than the've been for some years now, since ripe Blaye & Bourg and Castillon / Cadillac can benefit from a higher proportion of new oak, over say, many of the EDM properties further east.

I hope they are sensible enough to realise that taking over all along the river on the east side is going to allienate them from the locals. Allowing some production for Europe may help with public relations.

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Duncan