Domaine Clarence Dillon snaps up St Emilion estate

Domaine Clarence Dillon, owner of Bordeaux first growth Château Haut-Brion, has bought the 9.5-hectare Chateau L’Arrosée in Saint Emilion.

All change: Château L’Arrosée in St Emilion is now owned by Domaine Clarence Dillon

The purchase of the Grand Cru Classé estate was made through Quintus SAS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Domaine Clarence Dillon.

Owned by Roger and Jean-Philippe Caille since 2002, Chateau L’Arrosée borders the 15-hectare Château Quintus, which Clarence Dillon bought in 2011.

The agreement was signed on 29 May by the Caille family and Clarence Dillon president, Prince Robert of Luxembourg, with the purchase expected to be completed in September.

Atypically for St Emilion, in addition to Merlot, the estate is planted with 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Cabernet Franc.

“The Dillon family looks forward to continuing the exceptional work undertaken in this vineyard by Monsieur Roger Caille and his family since their arrival at this exceptional estate in 2002,” said a statement issued by Domaine Clarence Dillon.

While Gilles Pauquet is currently consultant oenologist at l’Arrosée, Clarence Dillon estates traditionally use their own oenologists; director Jean-Philippe Delmas and technical director Jean-Philippe Masclef.

However, no decisions on the running of the property will be taken until September.

Earlier this year, Graves-based first growth Château Haut-Brion announced that it has used the largest percentage of Merlot in its history with the 2012 vintage – 65.5%.

This year will see the first release (2011) of Château Quintus, come onto the market.

Quintus’ second wine, Le Dragon de Quintus, is likely to appeal to the Asian market due to the inclusion of a golden winged dragon on the label.