by Bernard Burtschy
Charmarré has added two new shareholders, Le Cellier des Dauphins and La Cave de Rasteau, making it just eight months after its launch the brand with the highest
production capacity in France. Gilles Le Besnerais, Director of Cellier des Dauphins explains; "We were first approached by OVS a year and a half ago. Since then we have seen the company and its brand Chamarré go from strength to strength. It is integral that the Côtes-du-Rhône region is represented within the Chamarré range, and we wanted to ensure that this representation was made by Cellier des Dauphins". With an annual production of 800,000 hectolitres, Le Cellier des Dauphins produces 25% of all wine of the Côtes-du-Rhône appellation.
The Côtes-du-Rhône from Chamarré, the fourth in a line of appellation wines, is due to hit shelves in the in 2007 and will complete the existing range which already includes a Bordeaux, Jurançon and Beaujolais. Jean-Jacques Dost, Director of Cave de Rasteau, a second shareholder from the Côtes-du-Rhône region comments; "The project is well founded by Pascal Renaudat, whose team has laid strong marketing and commercial plans for the brand. Quite simply, we couldn't avoid wanting to become part of this exciting enterprise".
With its original 8 shareholders, OVS already had access to 40,000 hectares of French vineyards. With the addition of the two new members, this figure has risen to 50,000 hectares. It is this significant increase that has given OVS its new claim to the highest production capacity in France. Managing Director at OVS - Pascal Renaudat observes; "With so many key shareholders and the addition of the Côtes-du-Rhône producers, Chamarré has now managed to capture the essence of French production in its range, an expression of France as a whole. With our new partners, OVS will have the capacity to offer a significant quantity of good quality wines under the Chamarré brand".
