Rémy Cointreau Acquires Century-old Champagne House J. de Telmont, Steeped in Traditional Craftsmanship and Resolutely Committed to Organic Agriculture

Regulatory News:

The Rémy Cointreau Group (Paris:RCO) announces that it has acquired a majority stake in Champagne J. de Telmont, including its brands, inventory, production facilities and property assets on its estate as well as vineyards in the Champagne region. Founded in 1912, this century-old family-owned champagne house is located in Damery, near Epernay. Alongside the Rémy Cointreau group, Bertrand Lhopital, a fourth-generation member of the founding family, will continue the work begun with his team both upstream (vineyard/sourcing) and in champagne production to perpetuate the estate’s expertise and family tradition. "We are a house of winegrowers and proud of it. This means we can be closer to the land and people and take an uncompromising approach to working our vines and our champagnes. The arrival of Rémy Cointreau, whose commitment to terroirs and the associated expertise is well established, adds a new dimension to the quest for excellence that has been our family’s guiding light for several generations”, points out Bertrand Lhopital.

The House will be chaired and managed by Ludovic du Plessis, who has spent his career building up genuine expertise in high-end champagnes and spirits. Ludovic was formerly Executive Director of cognac house Louis XIII for six years. He will now be leading this project as an intrapreneur within the group. He says, "Our ambition is to develop the J. de Telmont brand, particularly outside France, while protecting its master craftsmanship in champagne and stepping up the focus on organic/biodynamic agriculture at a time when only 3% of champagne vineyards are certified for organic production. The House will thus remain true to its motto, ‘Nec pluribus impar’ — ‘Unlike any other.’

Eric Vallat, Chief Executive Officer of Rémy Cointreau, adds: "We’re delighted to welcome J. de Telmont champagne into the Rémy Cointreau Group family of wines and spirits. This acquisition adds to the Group’s portfolio a craft champagne brand that offers tremendous growth potential and shares the same values of terroir, people and time as its other Houses.”

About Rémy Cointreau:

All around the world, there are clients seeking exceptional experiences; clients for whom a wide range of terroirs means a variety of flavours. Their exacting standards are proportional to our expertise – the finely-honed skills that we pass down from generation to generation. The time these clients devote to drinking our products is a tribute to all those who have worked to develop them. It is for these men and women that Rémy Cointreau, a family-owned French Group, protects its terroirs, cultivates exceptional multi-centenary spirits and undertakes to preserve their eternal modernity. The Group’s portfolio includes 12 singular brands, such as the Rémy Martin and Louis XIII cognacs, and Cointreau liqueur. Rémy Cointreau has a single ambition: becoming the world leader in exceptional spirits. To this end, it relies on the commitment and creativity of its 1,850 employees and on its distribution subsidiaries established in the Group’s strategic markets. Rémy Cointreau is listed on Euronext Paris.

About the J. de Telmont champagne house:

Founded in 1912, the century-old family-owned J. de Telmont champagne house is located in Damery, near Epernay, on the slopes of the Marne valley, where it develops champagnes under the J. de Telmont brand. It is one of the last independent family-run estates in the Champagne region, and Pascale and Bertrand Lhopital represent the fourth generation of true master craftsmen in the art of champagne. The family’s keen commitment to looking after its terroirs supports the House’s very demanding environmental approach, implemented over decades and full of promise for the future. Thus, all of the House's lands are currently engaged in a certification process and will be labeled HVE3 (High Environmental Value) by 2021. Thanks to the work undertaken for several years, a third of the grapes harvested are certified AB (Organic Agriculture) or being converted.

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