From Sigi Hiss
, at 20. December 2011 07:22
by Jane Anson in Bordeaux – More Bordeaux chateaux have been snapped up by Chinese purchasers in the last few weeks 
– all within a few miles of each other, in one of the most picturesque parts of the region.
The two chateaux – Lezongars and Grand Branet – are in the Entre-Deux-Mers region, making AOC Bordeaux and AOC Cotes de Bordeaux wine.
Prices have not been revealed, although Lezongars was first put on the market in 2009 for €4.2m.
Of the two others in the immediate vicinity, one is Chateau Grand Moueys and the other cannot yet be named. Both have signed letters of intent for sale, and are expected to be completed within weeks. Besides their location, they are also all attractive estates with large, classically-built chateaux.
Lezongars has been owned by British couple Philip and Sarah Iles since 1998 and is located in the village of Villenave-de-Rions, on a limestone escarpment with views over the River Garonne.
Grand Branet was owned by the Manvielle family and again is located on a limestone escarpment with views over the Garonne River. No details of the purchasers have been released.
Alexander Hall of advisory service Vineyard Intelligence told Decanter.com that several of the properties had been on the market for some time.
‘It is my guess that very few of these estates would have been showing a consistent profit and that puts off anyone who does not have distribution in place.
‘Enter the Chinese, who want the big Entre-Deux-Mers or AOC Bordeaux style château and have no problem with the distribution side.’
Gavin Quinney, owner of Chateau Bauduc in Entre-Deux-Mers and neighbour of the two chateaux said, ‘Two local Bordeaux châteaux, all within a few miles of each other, have been snapped up by the Chinese in little more than a month, and they won’t be the last. For some chateaux that struggle to sell their wine, China really is a ‘get out of jail free’ card.’
These purchases bring the number of Chinese-owned Bordeaux properties to 13. These include Chateau Branda in AOC Fronsac, bought by billionaire businessman Cheng Qu, and Chateau Monlot by Chinese actress Zhao Wei.
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