Today’s press release from the Château de Pommard.

Under their new ownership, they are very much moving forward with a business-centric approach:

Château de Pommard builds its international sales network

Hires Ann Feely as Chief Commercial Officer

Pommard, France 14th March 2016

Château de Pommard is expanding its sales and marketing organization and create an international sales network. Previously, all wines were sold directly from the Château by a dedicated sales team in Pommard. To create the global go-to-market strategy, establish partnerships with agents and importers in key markets and to manage the global sales and marketing team, the Château has hired Ann Feely as Chief Commercial Officer. ”Ann, our Cellar Master Emmanuel Sala and I want to share our unique terroir with the world by creating a global network of partnerships.” said Michael Baum, proprietaire.

Ann Feely has over 20-years of international wine industry experience. Previously she was Vice President of Marketing and Brand Management for the Wilson Daniels Terroir Collection and Private Client Group, and responsible for the import portfolio including the Burgundy portfolio, featuring Domaine de La Romanée Conti and Domaine Leflaive. Ann recently founded her own international wine sales and marketing consultancy based in the San Francisco Bay Area, “By joining our team, Ann combines the experience and knowledge which will allow us to share the story of Clos de Château de Pommard, the largest Monopole in Burgundy. The Clos contains two plots, ‘Simone’ and ‘Chantrerie’, with one of the highest levels of clay density in Burgundy. Similar levels have been found only in two grand crus: Richebourg and Musigny,” said Emmanuel Sala, Cellar Master at the Château for the last nine years.

Before joining Wilson Daniels, Ann was Vice President of Wine Sourcing and Sales at Vinfolio, an on-line fine wine retailer. Prior her position at Vinfolio, she was the General Manager of Broadbent Selections Inc., a boutique wine import agency in San Francisco. Other previous positions include tenures as Export Manager for the UK and Ireland for Constellation Wines US and International Sales Manager for St Supéry Vineyards & Winery in the Napa Valley. Before joining the wine industry, Ann was Director of International Trade Services for a law firm in Washington, DC and was the first non-lawyer to be elected partner in a firm of 300 attorneys.

Ann holds a Wine MBA from KEDGE Business School in Bordeaux, France, where she now lectures on luxury wine marketing in the US. In addition to teaching, she enjoys learning and has previously taken on the challenge of becoming a Master of Wine while also participating in the US Court of Master Sommeliers study program at the Advanced level. Ann also holds a Masters degree in International Transactions from George Mason University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies and Political Science from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

“I am honored to be a part of a collaborative effort with Michael and Emmanuel to bring Château de Pommard the international recognition it deserves. As the owner, Michael brings his vision combined with the soul of an entrepreneur, while as the winemaker, Emmanuel shares his unique sensibility and true passion for the wines crafted from this distinct terroir. The three of us are anxious to share what up until now has been a secret reserved only for visitors who have traveled to the Château. Soon we will share this very special story in the glass with the rest of the world,” said Ann.

Château de Pommard dates back 300 years thanks to one of Pommard’s oldest families, the Micault family. Advisor to King Louis XV, Vivant Micault undertook to construct Château de Pommard in true Regency style. In the 18th century the Marey family, one of the greatest families of Nuit Saint-Georges were the stewards of the Clos and forged a strong reputation for the wines of Château de Pommard. Both the Château Micault and the Château Marey Monge are must see place inside of the 20 hectare clos, the largest of a single owner in all of Burgundy. Château de Pommard is today owned by the Carabello-Baum family, the fifth family since 1726 to operate the domain, a truly exceptional destination in Burgundy.

http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/51624

This was in the ‘post’ today. Lots of speculation about Jacques’ destination – some say Morey St.Denis 😉

Change of Technical Director at Domaine de l’Arlot: a smooth transition

After three very successful years at Domaine de l’Arlot during which he has contributed a great deal to the life of the property, Jacques Devauges has received a proposition to take charge of a another major vineyard in Burgundy which he felt he could not refuse. He will take up his new responsibilities in January 2015.

We are happy to announce the arrival of our new Technical Director, Géraldine Godot, who will be joining us at the beginning of September. This means that there will be a very smooth transition between Jacques and Géraldine as they will be able to work together until the end of the year, including the crucial harvesting and vinification period.

Géraldine Godot is originally from Burgundy, where she was educated and has spent much of her career. She graduated from Institut Jules Guyot in Dijon with a Master’s degree in Cellular Biology and Oenology and currently occupies the position of Manager and Oenologist with the Alex Gambal estate in Beaune. She has also had the opportunity to practice her English and Spanish during a stay in Chile at the Bodega Las Niñas. In addition to her technical missions, Géraldine will act as the Domaine’s representative in France and abroad as well as on site at the property.

“Jacques participated fully with me and Daniel LLose in the search and recruitment of his successor and I am happy to report that we were all unanimous in our decision that Géraldine Godot was the right person to take on the management of Domaine de l’Arlot. I particularly appreciate the fact that Jacques insisted on staying with us to the end of the year in order to ensure a smooth handover. I thank him for all he has done for us and wish him every success in his future career”, says Christian Seely, Managing Director of AXA Millésimes, owner of Domaine de l’Arlot since 1987.

Domaine de l’Arlot, situated in the Côte de Nuits winegrowing area, comprises notably two Nuits Saint-Georges 1er cru Monopoles vineyards: Clos de l’Arlot and Clos des Forêts Saint-Georges. Overall the vineyard covers 15 hectares of which 1.9 hectares are planted to Chardonnay, producing an exceptional white wine (Clos de l’Arlot) and 2.1 hectares planted to Pinot Noir. Clos des Forêts Saint-Georges covers 7.2 hectares planted entirely to Pinot Noir. Domaine de l’Arlot also owns 0.25 hectares of Romanée Saint-Vivant Grand Cru and 0.85 hectares of Vosne-Romanée, 1er Cru Les Suchots.

24 June 2014

Louis-Michel Liger-Belair has been a busy boy.

Not only has he been re-designing the family Audi A3*, but he has been remodelling his affairs in Vosne-Romanée too.

The name of the business C.Marey was first recorded in Nuits St.Georges in 1720. In 1852, Guillaume-Félix Marey, together with the Comte Liger-Belair joined their business together to form the company, C.Marey et Comte Liger-Belair. On the death of Guillaume-Félix in 1869, the company passed solely into the hands of the Liger-Belairs. In the first half of the 1900s this company name was sold, eventually ending up in the hands of Maison Boisset of Nuits St.Georges.

Louis-Michel has come to an agreement with Boisset to recover this old name connected to his family in Vosne-Romanée, and will use this as the vehicle for selling multiple lots of wines he has been buying at the Hospices de Beaune.

*Nobody was seriously injured, but Louis-Michel’s wife, Constance, has a painful broken bone.