The offensive of the world leader in luxury LVMH on the vineyards of the Var
Château Minuty, a globally successful Côtes de Provence classified growth, joins the portfolio of Moët Hennessy, a subsidiary of LVMH headed by businessman Bernard Arnault. In an exclusive interview with Var Matin, the luxury group announces its acquisition of a majority stake in the capital of this famous property in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, one of the flagship brands of Provence wine.
This is the second acquisition of LVMH formalized in two months in rosé wine, after the current acquisition of 100% of the shares of Jas d’Esclans, in the center of Var. With Château Galoupet (acquired in 2019), it is the 3e classified growth of Provence to return to the bosom of the group.
“This strategic partnership with Minuty (…), driven by strong export demand, will strengthen the development of wines internationally, which will benefit the entire Rosé de Provence sector”, welcomes Philippe Schaus, Chairman and CEO of Moët Hennessy. The direction and future responsibility for the development of Minuty remain in the hands of Jean-Etienne and François Matton, 4e generation of the Matton-Farnet family at the head of this Saint-Tropez property whose vineyard extends over the slopes of Gassin and Ramatuelle.
A success story born in 1936, the success of which accompanied the upward wave, then the planetary surge of rosés from Provence: during the year 2022, Minuty sold 9 million bottles worldwide, at 80% of the rosés from its entry-level M range, thanks to a brand strategy supported by the iconic cuvée 281, in reference to the blue pantone color that enhances the bottle. An ultra premium wine sold for over €50.
A sale at 300 million euros
Enough to quickly make the transaction profitable, the first figures in circulation of which announce astronomical prices: between 300 and 400 million euros according to various sources solicited in recent weeks, while rumors of sales were going well in the Var vineyards. “300 million euros is in line with the reputation of Minuty, which mainly produces commercial wines (from grapes purchased from local winegrowers or winegrowers, editor’s note). Paying more for a business, even a brand as famous as Minuty, would be madness”analyzes a speaker in the field of wine transactions, who wishes to remain anonymous.
Even overestimated, this figure arouses incomprehension and anger among Var winegrowers. “There is a total disconnect between the price of land, which is soaring under the control of these large groups with enormous financial capacities, and the winegrowers who wish to live off the fruit of their labor”, worries Laurent Bunan, president of the Federation of Independent Winegrowers of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur-Corsica. For this winegrower, co-manager of the family estate Domaines Bunan, in Cadière-d’Azur, the imbalance between the intrinsic value of the land and the valuation of wines by family estates “who do not sell their bottles 30 e and more”, is a danger for transmission in the family setting.
No future?
“It is becoming impossible to pay the inheritance costs. There is a real danger for the future of old winegrower families who want to keep their heritage and pass it on in the future”, insists the president.
The winegrowers’ union is not the only one to sound the alarm: for several months, the Confédération Paysanne du Var, mobilized in the Esclans valley where LVMH is already established, denounces the grabbing of agricultural land by non-agricultural financial profiles resulting in soaring land prices, past “in ten years, 45,000 e per hectare of land with vines planted under the appellation, 120,000 e”according to spokesman Sylvain Apostolo.
For the Conf’, this “financialization of land”, could be slowed down with the Sempastous law which must regulate land by instructing a control on the sale of shares.
Perfectly legal, this device allows companies to return to the capital of a company holding agricultural land, escaping the controls of the Land Development and Rural Establishment Company (Safer). “It is enough for a seller to retain even a small percentage of shares in a company holding agricultural land for this to completely compromise our right of first refusal. We are watching the train go by, without being able to do anything”recognizes Laurent Vinciguerra, Deputy Managing Director of Safer Paca.
The land regulatory body does not hide its discomfort with the sale of Minuty, an operation “without intermediary, without agents”according to some observers of the case, and for which the Safer has not received any notification from the notaries, while the future law of October 13, 2014 provides for it in the interests of transparency.
“These are agreements that take time, given the amounts announced”, interpreter Laurent Vinciguerra. A time that is considerably reduced, while the Sempastous law must come into force on 1is March for implementation one month later. Since the end of 2022, Safer has observed a “significant increase in transactions by the social phenomenon. It’s a windfall to take advantage of the window of opportunity before law enforcement comes into force”.
The Var, El Dorado for investors
Bernard Arnault is not the only one to set his sights on the Var, a territory where the vine represents a safe investment for investors: Bolloré (domain of La Croix in La Croix-Valmer and Bastide Blanche in Ramatuelle), Richard Mille , creator of the eponymous luxury Swiss watches (Château Rêva in La Motte), Roederer champagnes, which returned to the capital of the Ott estates (Château Romassan, Château de Selle and Clos Mireille), or even Chanel, which entered the dance in 2019 by acquiring the Domaine de l’Île, in Porquerolles… Soon followed by the businessman Edouard Carmignac, creator of the Domaine de la Courtade. A hunting list to which we must add a youngest, the Cantarelle estate which recently fell into the lap of the ex-presidential couple Sarkozy-Bruni, associated with the businessman Stéphane Courbit.
Without forgetting stars like Brad Pitt (Miraval in Correns) or Georges Clooney (Canadel estate in Brignoles)…
Senator Olivier Rietmann.(Photo DR).
Sempastous emergency law, one year late
Although it came into force on July 1, 2022, the Sempastous law, which has remained almost almost inapplicable for more than a year, has finally been promulgated in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region with the publication, this Tuesday, February 14, of the prefectural decree. This emergency law must plug a loophole in land transactions, which until now allowed financiers to take a stake in a company holding agricultural land, while escaping the control of Safer, “by the transfer of a percentage of shares. It was a blind spot in the regulation which slows down the installation and consolidation of farms and contributes to the excessive concentration of certain farmers”, indicates the prefecture of Paca.
To counter this phenomenon, the Sempastous law establishes two safeguards: an administrative control will be instructed by the Safer in the event of a takeover of a company (more than 40% of the shares) and the exceeding of an expansion threshold significant of the total areas held by the purchaser, “around one and a half to three times the regional average Useful Agricultural Area (SAU),” explains Olivier Rietmann, senator for Haute-Saône, rapporteur for the law.
In the Paca region, the prefect Christophe Mirmand opted for a multiplier of 1.5, corresponding to a significant expansion threshold of 127.5 ha, or 1.5 times the regional UAA (85 ha).
Then, the department prefects will give a favorable opinion or not “on the good quality of the transactions”, or may request compensatory measures from the buyers, such as the retrocession of a few hectares for agricultural installations. And that’s the problem with this emergency law born… late in life. “What is the logic in having made us work on an emergency law, to finally forget it for a year, which allowed the contractualization of a good number of transactions which should have been passed through the mill of this law”, does not takes off by Olivier Rietmann.