A trio of strategic alliances

The last couple of days have seen a flurry of announcements in France and California in which the big get bigger. As a sign of the times, and how difficult it is to make money in them, leading Languedoc négociant JeanJean has just absorbed Michel Laroche, the highly respected Chablis producer who expanded into the south of France some time ago. Once approved by the French authorities, the new 'merged' group will own 1,450 ha (3,583 acres) of vineyards and such names as Ogier and Clos de l’Oratoire in the southern Rhône, Antoine Moueix in Bordeaux and Cazes in...