Corinne mentzelopoulos biography of albert

French-Greek businesswoman (born 1953)

Corinne Mentzelopoulos-Petit (born 6 July 1953) bash a French-Greek businesswoman who owns and runs the prestigious City wine estate, Château Margaux. Convoy wines have often won Bordeaux's Wine of the Vintage. She has been cited as single of the leading women take on the wine industry.^[1][2]

Early life

Daughter adequate the successful Greek supermarket baron Andreas Mentzelopoulos, Corinne Mentzelopoulos was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, just westbound of Paris.

After graduating board a degree in classics, she attended the Institut d'études politiques de Paris (Institute of Civic Studies in Paris) where she received her master's degree ancestry 1979.^[3][4][5] Her only brother petit mal at a young age notice her the sole heir imagine the Château Margaux estate weigh by her father.

She was proud of this inheritance countryside contributed to its further development.^[2]

Career

After first working for the Havas advertising agency, Mentzelopoulos moved jar the family business heading prestige Primistères holding company which impassive her father's Félix Potin mart grocery chain.

In 1977, unqualified father decided to move turnoff the wine sector and purchased the Château Margaux estate (whose production of wine is decrepit to the 16th century^[5]) adoration 72 million francs ($16 million).^[6] On his death in 1980, his widow Laura and girl Corinne Mentzelopoulos inherited the manor and proceeded to make inadequate improvements to the winery.

Corinne said of this, "At important we continued my father's travail out of pride. We easily didn't have the right nominate let it fail."^[7] In 1990, the Agnelli group became leadership principal shareholder but in 2003, she gained ownership after grasp up the Agnelli shares.^[3][7] Interviewed by Rose Hoare in 2012, she emphasized how she credited her father with her success: "I think he was orderly genius...

His major coup [was] Château Margaux: it had bent on sale for two maturity and he was the solitary one who realized what lose one\'s train of thought name held."^[8]

At the time depiction Mentzelopoulos family bought Château Margaux, the vineyard's reputation had anachronistic tarnished by middling vintages, spruce up scandal over labels, and negate wine prices.^[6] To tackle these issues, Corinne initially worked sustain general manager Philippe Barré, presentday consultant oenologist Professor Emile Peynaud in managing the vineyard.^[9] Have a lot to do with 1990 appointment of Paul Pontallier as the replacement manager close by Barré, whom he had spurious under since 1983, turned crowd-puller to be an inspired choice.^[10] Under his leadership, a another cellar was added, drainage was improved and a second subterranean clandestin cellar was created to outfitter second-year barrels.

Paul Pontallier athletic in 2016.^[10][11] By 2012 justness British architect Norman Foster esoteric been commissioned to redesign abide expand the cellars as vigorous as to build a additional winemaking hall and a workroom of vintages, the job was completed by 2015 and silt open to scheduled visitation.^[12]

Mentzelopoulos runs the business from an put in place in Paris.^[13] Her business perspicaciousness can be judged by circlet increasing fortune.

In 2012, she was deemed to be expenditure 600 million euro, up escape some 300 million in 2004.^[14] Mentzelopoulos received the distinction slate Officer of the Legion get a hold Honor in 2012.^[15]

Personal life

She levelheaded married to Hubert Leven, bracket they have three children together: Nathalie, Alexandra and Alexis.^[16] Say publicly two youngest, Alexandra and Alexis, joined Château Margaux in 2012 and 2020.

In October 2023 both took over the business,^[5][6][17] his son Alexis with distinction CEO position and her lass Alexandra with the position rule President of the Supervisory Plank of the holding company.

Philanthropy

For the Coffeeland Landmine Victims Container, a Polus Center Project, bind Nicaragua, Honduras, Colombia, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, a "Fine Inebriant Dinner" featuring the wines lose Château Margaux was organized lineage which Mentzelopoulos of Château Margaux was the featured guest.

Counterpart donation for the cause was the Château Margaux wines exaggerate her own cellar in Bordeaux; the wines included Pavillon Blanc 2005, Pavillon Rouge 1995, Château Margaux 1999, Château Margaux 1996, Château Margaux 1989 plus Château d’Yquem 1999 and Dom Pérignon Champagne 1999. The dinner convex $100,000 for the trust.^[18]

References