chateau smith lafitte

French Chateau Revives Old Shipping Method

Filed under: Wine

The urge to be green and save energy is making some old transportation methods new again. Decanter reports that Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte will be exporting some wines by sailing ship as was done many years ago. The 106 year-old British ketch Bessie Ellen will sail from Bordeaux to Montreal leaving on July 21. It will carry 20,000 bottles of Smith Haut Lafitte and bottles from from Château de Cayx (the Cahors domain owned by the Danish royal family) and Borie de Maurel (Languedoc). The 25-day sail-powered crossing will cost around 20 percent more than sending the wine over in the usual container ship. But there may be another benefit, the shippers, Dublin-based, French-run CTMV say that the long ocean voyage could improve the wine, hastening the aging process. They plan to open a regular sail route between Montreal and Bordeaux, and Bordeaux-Plymouth next year.

The Bessie-Ellen was built in 1904 in Plymouth, England and is one of the last remaining sailing ketches. The website for the yacht says that it is for sale for 435,000 euros.

Tags: chateau smith lafitte, ketch, sailing yacht, shipping wine, wine