Castel Group (French Groupe Castel) is a French beverage company. It was established in 1949 by Pierre Castel, who continues to run the company as a family-owned concern. Castel is the largest French wine producer and owns the biggest French and foreign wine brands distributed in France. Castel Group is also the French leader for table wines and the number four for beers and soft drinks in Africa (after

SABMiller SABMiller plc was an Anglo–South African multinational brewing and beverage company headquartered in Woking, England on the outskirts of London until 10 October 2016 when it was acquired by AB InBev for US$107-billion. It was the world's sec ...

, Heineken N.V., and

Guinness Guinness () is a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at Guinness Brewery, St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is now owned by the British-based Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic bever ...

), and—after Constellation Brands and Gallo—number four for wine worldwide. Castel claims to have a 25 percent share of profits from the African beer market.

History

Starting with a wine merchant business in Bordeaux, the company steadily expanded in size and scope. Castel grew into other parts of the wine business, first bottling, then acquisition of viniculture lands and brands—Chateau de Goelane, a Bordeaux Superieur, was acquired in 1957—later distribution by buying the wine specialty stores of Nicolas (1998) and marketing.Castel Group website
/ref> In 2022, French anti-terrorism prosecutors opened an investigation into allegations of potential complicity in

war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

s made against Groupe Castel in the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

(CAR), citing deals to provide armed militia UPC with cash and vehicle support in order to secure regional market position.

Wine

Groupe Castel produces many table wines (vins de table). It expanded its wine offering by buying its main competitor, Société des Vins de France, from

Pernod Ricard Pernod Ricard () is a French company best known for its anise-flavoured pastis apéritifs Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis (often referred to simply as ''Pernod'' or '' Ricard''). The world's second-largest wine and spirits seller, it also produ ...

in 1992. The company has a number of well branded wines such as Baron de Lestac, Roche Mazet, Vieux Papes and La Villageoise. It also bought the Malesan and Sidi Brahim wines. In 2008 the company expanded from the south of France to the Loire valley and the Bourgogne. Higher tier wines are sold by the Chateaux and Estate section of Castel (listed below). Since 2008 Groupe Castel has made more efforts to decrease its dependence on the French market and become more visible in English speaking countries, Eastern Europe, and the Eastern Asia, primarily China. As of 2015, Castel owns 1,400 ha of vineyards in France and 1,600 ha in Morocco, Tunisia, and Ethiopia in Africa. It produced 640 million bottles, 59% for the French market.

Baron de Lestac

Baron de Lestac is a

Bordeaux wine Bordeaux wine (; ) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city, the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the broad estuary called the Gironde; the Gi ...

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

owned by Groupe Castel. Baron de Lestac is produced as a red wine (a blend of

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebano ...

and

Merlot Merlot ( ) is a dark-blue-colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of , the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color ...

) and a white wine (a blend of Sauvignon and

Sémillon Sémillon () is a golden-skinned grape used to make dry and sweet white wines, mostly in French wine, France and Australian wine, Australia. Its thin skin and susceptibility to Botrytis cinerea, botrytis make it dominate the sweet wine region S ...

), both Bordeaux AOC wines and produced with an influence of

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

. The wine is sold in a variety of containers including bottles and bag-in-box. A Haut-Médoc AOC wine is also produced, under the name Les Hauts de Lestac, and is marketed as a high-end version of Baron de Lestac. In 2007, at 750,000 cases (9 million bottles), Baron de Lestac was the third most selling Bordeaux brand behind Mouton Cadet and Castel's Malesan, and the fastest-growing.Jane Anson: Bordeaux Regional Analysis
(February 2008)

Beer

In 1990, it purchased a major competitor in African beer, Brasseries et Glacières Internationales (BGI). In 1994 Castel added La Société de Limonaderies et Brasseries d'Afrique (SOLIBRA) that is focused on soft drinks. In 2003 the company bought Brasseries du Maroc, 2011 Brasseries Star Madagascar, and 2014 Nouvelle Brasserie de Madagascar. Major beer brands are Flag and Castel. The company produces 28 million hectolitres of beer and soft drinks in Africa each year. In 2001,

acquired 20 percent of Castel's African Beverages operations and Castel acquired 38 percent of SABMiller Africa and SABMiller Botswana. An update of the partnership in 2012 saw the two combine their Nigerian businesses under SABMiller's control with their Angolan businesses set to be handled by Castel.

Other

Castel produces

olive oil Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional Tree fruit, tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a cond ...

from Morocco and maintains sugar plantations in Africa.

List of Castel Chateaux and Estates

* Château d'Arcins * Château Barreyres * Château Beychevelle (GCC) * Château de La Botinière * Château du Bousquet * Château Campet * Château Cavalier * Domaine de la Clapière * Château Ferrande * Château de Goëlane * Château de Haut Coulon * Château Hourtou * Château de l'Hyvernière * Château Latour Camblanes * Château du Lort * Château Malbec * Château Mirefleurs * Château Montlabert * Château Tour Prignac

References

External links

Official site
{{in lang, fr Wineries of France Wine brands Beer brands of France French brands Alcoholic drink companies Food and drink companies established in 1949 Companies based in Bordeaux French companies established in 1949