I see this reported in the French press today:

The Pasteur Institute, owner of the Château des Ravatys, has decided to sell the estate to help fund their research. Apparently, this follows long reflection and there is no link between this decision and the backdrop of covid-19 infections.

Set at the foot of the Mont Brouilly, the Pasteur Institute has owned this property in Saint-Lager since 1937, the sale price is estimated at 6.9 million euros. In the context of the Côte d’Or that’s practically nothing for holdings that extend to:

1. 56 hectares, including 28 ha planted with vines (20 ha in the Côte-de-Brouilly appellation and 8 ha in Brouilly – 2019 figures).
2. 5,500 m² of buildings
3. 150,000 bottles of annual production, excluding sharecropping

Ravatys also have a small plot of Chassagne-Montrachet white (pictured) it’s not clear if that is included in the transaction – their version is rather oaky.

Although the quality was not quite to the same level in 2018, the reds from here in 2017 could be favourably compared to those of a near neighbour – Château Thivin – save for Laurent Martray, there is no higher benchmark in the area.