Castel is set to become the market leader for Rosé wines with the acquisition of Listel

lready the link between Bordeaux and Reims, Camargue and Provence will now become the link between the biggest French wine group (Castel Frères) and the number one European wine producer (Vranken-Pommer, 2500 hectares). As the two family run companies states in a joint press release, they « are uniting to create a world leader in rosé wines ». Consequently, company Listel SA, owned in equal parts by each company, will allow them to play with the synergy between production and distribution channels. Vranken Pommery will maintain control of the wine producing assets of Listel and will be responsible for the development of « potentially important markets [such as] China, Russia and Africa » with an ambitious sales target of 40 million bottles a year.

However, it must be noted that this merger still needs to be validated by the Competition Authority (much in the same way as the joining of Castel-Patriarche). Listel’s production chains and commerce is estimated to be 42 million euros at present.

[Source ; Vitisphere ; Photo ; Sand vineyard, Vranken-Pommery]