Château d'Esclans is a

rosé A rosé () is a type of wine that incorporates some of the wine color, color from the grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine. It may be the oldest known type of wine, as it is the most straightforward to make with the Macerati ...

wine producer in the

Côtes de Provence AOC Provence wine or Provençal wine (, ) comes from the French wine-producing region of Provence in southeast France. The Romans called the area ''provincia nostra'' ("our province"), giving the region its name. Just south of the Alps, it was the fi ...

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

, France. It is majority owned by

LVMH LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (), commonly known as LVMH, is a French multinational holding company and conglomerate that specializes in luxury goods and has its headquarters in Paris, France. The company was formed in 1987 through the ...

. The château is credited with reviving interest in rosé wine. It is best known for producing the Whispering Angel, which is in high demand in the US.

History

Château d'Esclans was formerly a residence of the Counts of Provence. It was later owned by Jacques Auxile Verrion, War Commissioner of Louis XV, who became Count of Esclans under Charles X. Sacha Lichine purchased Château d'Esclans in 2005, from a Swedish pension fund. Over ten years, he increased production from 135,000 bottles per year to 5 million bottles per year.https://www.pointdevue.fr/lifestyle/visites-privees/univers-chez-sacha-et-mathilde-lichine Lichine targeted the North American market, transforming rosé wine as a lifestyle accessory. He brought in

Patrick Léon Patrick Léon (born 1943 in Bordeaux, died 2018 in Bordeaux) was a French winemaker. He worked for Alexis Lichine, Château Mouton Rothschild, and Sacha Lichine. Léon studied oenology Oenology (also enology; ) is the science and study of wi ...

as winemaker, who had retired from

Mouton Rothschild Mouton may refer to: *Mouton, Charente, a commune in France *Mouton, Louisiana, an unincorporated community in the United States *Mouton fur, a sheepskin that has been made to resemble beaver or seal *Mouton de Gruyter, a scholarly publishing hous ...

. In 2019, LVMH acquired 55% of Château d'Esclans: 50% from Lichine's business partner Hervé Vinciguerra, and 5% from Lichine, with Lichine retaining 45% of the business. The value of the deal was not disclosed but was estimated at €140 million.

Products

The main wine of the estate is "Whispering Angel". The lesser wines are "The Pale" and "The Beach". "Rock Angel" is more expensive. These wines are made with grapes bought in from other estates. More expensive wines are made with grapes only from the estate: "Château d'Esclans", "Les Clans" and "Garrus". "Garrus" is one of the world's most expensive rosés, made from almost 100-year-old vines and fermented in French oak barrels.

References

External links

* {{official, https://www.esclans.com/ Rosé wines Provence wine LVMH