French vineyard was a tarnished asset when it was sold on a handshake – now it’s a $1b superstar

Devon Pendleton | May 16, 2018

Chateau Margaux dates from 1812; the property, now owned by Corinne Mentzelopoulos, has been a wine estate since the 18th century.

When her father died in 1980, Corinne Mentzelopoulos inherited a business empire that included 1600 grocery stores, 80 buildings in central Paris, a hotel that was once the home of Louis XIV-and a run-down vineyard the family had purchased almost on a whim three years earlier.

Today, the vineyard has made her a billionaire. It’s Chateau Margaux, one of just a handful of properties that can claim the prized Premier Cru designation bestowed by Napoleon III in 1855 upon Bordeaux’s very best terroirs for making wine.

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