LVMH has just acquired vineyard plots in the commune of Aloxe-Corton, Côte d’Or. Suffocated by inheritance costs, the Poisot family had no choice but to sell off part of their land. However, they retain control of the entire estate.
With the purchase of 1.3 hectares of vines from the Poisot Père & Fils family, for 15.5 million euros, LVMH proves that still wines from Burgundy have their place in the development of its wines and spirits division. Although the estate has not been sold, its operators must now pay rent to the Number One in luxury goods in order to continue their business.
The Poisot family estate, which specializes in the production of the most prestigious wines of the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuit, isfar from the only victim of the exponential increase in inheritance costs, which today hit the heirs of small vineyards hard.
Convoitises in Burgundy lands
The Bien Public magazine reported an announcement by the SAFER that the LVMH group had just bought 1.3 hectares of vines from the 2-hectare domaine Poisot Père & Fils. The family vineyard, founded in 1960, was taken over in 2010 by Rémi Poisot, the fourth generation at the helm.
The family of Burgundy winegrowers, who run this emblematic estate in the village of Aloxe-Corton, have parcels of three grands crus and one premier cru, including Corton grand cru, Romanée-Saint-Vivant and Pernand-Vergelesses.
All these great Burgundy wines will complete the LVMH brand portfolio in the more or less distant future. The group is not only present in Champagne, Cognac and Provence: with the Domaine de Lambrays in Morey-Saint-Denis, the Number One in luxury goods has already established itself in Burgundy.
In the meantime, LVMH is not acquiring the estate but the land.
Interviewed by the Journal du Centre, the winemaker confirms: “We will continue to run all the vineyards, the estate has not been bought out. We will continue to work without any interference, LVMH just bought this land which belonged to my family, because of inheritance problems.”
An increasingly common heartbreak
But what this story really highlights is the damaging effects of heavy taxation on the heirs of small vineyards.
For Thiebaut Hubert, President of the Confédération des Appellations et des Vignerons de Bourgogne (CAVB), it’s the uncorrelated values of the land that are causing difficulties.
Speaking to the Revue des Vins de France, the president of the CAVB takes issue with this situation: “A piece of land that would be worth 100,000 euros ends up being worth 1 million euros. And rather than being taxed on 100,000, we’re taxed on 1 million”.
Thiebaut Hubert deplores the fact thatthe tax situation favors the big guys , leading to sales rather than transfers.
In his opinion, as long as the government does not reduce the inheritance tax on what should be seen first and foremost as their work tool, farmers will lose their property.
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Featured Photo: © Commune d’Aloxe-Corton
