Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA appoints Ariane Khaida to head its Châteaux Wines division

The Board of Directors of Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA has appointed Ariane Khaida to the position of Executive Director, Châteaux Wines (Château Mouton Rothschild, Château Clerc Milon, Château d’Armailhac, Domaine de Baronarques) with effect from 1 July 2020. As such, she will also sit on the Board of Directors of Opus One, Almaviva and Baronarques.

As the manager of leading Bordeaux merchant houses, Ms Khaida demonstrated her energy, her decision-making ability, her capacity for forward thinking and her perfect knowledge of the world of fine wines.

She succeeds Philippe Dhalluin, who has decided to retire after more than 15 years as manager of the company’s estates and will relinquish his position as Executive Director, Châteaux Wines on 1 July 2020. However, in order to ensure the smooth handover of responsibilities within the Châteaux Wines division, he will continue to serve as Adviser to the Chairman until 1 December 2020, at which date he will leave the company.

“My family and I express our deepest thanks to Philippe Dhalluin for all his wonderful work. Over the last 15 years, he has taken Mouton Rothschild and our other family châteaux to an unprecedented level of excellence and reputation. He has also been successful in attracting and training the necessary talents to continue our unceasing quest for excellence”, said Philippe Sereys de Rothschild, Chairman and CEO of Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA.

The Châteaux Wines division has been reorganised to coincide with the arrival of Ariane Khaida. A new position has been created, that of Estates Manager with technical responsibility for our three Bordeaux properties, Château Mouton Rothschild, Château Clerc Milon and Château d’Armailhac. It will be filled by Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy, previously director of Château Clerc Milon, where he has amply demonstrated his remarkable winemaking and managerial skills over the last ten years, making Château Clerc Milon one of the most highly acclaimed wines on the Bordeaux market.

Erick Tourbier, hitherto technical director of Château Mouton Rothschild under Philippe Dhalluin, will become Technical Winemaking Adviser to the Chairman with a wider, cross-cutting role spanning both our estate wines and our branded wines. The other key positions in the Châteaux Wines division remain unchanged and will continue to be filled by their current occupants.