Michel Laroche has made a major move into South Africa by acquiring L'Avenir winery and 70 ha of well-established Stellenbosch vineyards.
The pin-up from Chablis has already established a substantial business in the Languedoc, Domaine de la Chevalière, and several ventures at various times in Chile, today concentrated on the Viña Punto Casablanca label.
While South Africans are pleased with this obvious sign of approval by a prominent personage in French wine, some are distinctly puzzled by Laroche's decision to buy such a relatively traditional estate. A cleaner slate might have made more sense for such a go-getting, modern winemaker...