Announced by the previous Prime Minister Michel Barnier, the new measures concerning the wine industry have just been adopted with the rejection of the motions of censure against François Bayrou's government and the adoption of the 2025 budget. And these measures are already seen by industry leaders as a real breath of fresh air in the particularly sensitive area of wine estate transfers.
The recent sale of 1.3 hectares of vineyards in the Côte de Nuits region, including Grand Cru vineyards, for the princely sum of 15.5 million euros to the LVMH group, sounded the alarm about the excesses of the current system and the dangers to the survival of the ancestral Burgundian model of small family estates. Winegrowers simply couldn't keep up, being forced to sell off part of their vineyards or go into debt to pass on an inheritance to their children.
75% allowance up to 20 million euros
With these new provisions, including the revision of article 793 bis of the French General Tax Code, the 75% tax allowance ceilings for the gratuitous transfer of farmland have been raised from €500,000 for a property held for 10 years to €20 million for a property held for 18 years (above these ceilings, the exemption drops to 50%).
To put it in concrete terms, the Confédération des Appellations et des Vignerons de Bourgogne (CAVB) has simulated a rather "classic" small family estate in Burgundy, of 5 hectares, in Meursault, which includes villages, premiers crus... and whose value is now close to 20 million euros with the surge in land prices over the last few years. With this new tax situation, the family will save 1.29 million euros in transfer costs.
Anchoring domains in families
We can already hear the good-natured criticizing the "tax gift to the wealthy", but it's worth noting that the requirement to keep the property for 18 years in order to benefit from the tax allowance should have the effect of avoiding the windfall effect and, on the contrary, of anchoring the estates in old family environments over the long term. And 18 years is almost a generation.
"We're going to have to fight for this measure to be renewed with each new budget, but the fact remains that this text represents a major step forward for viticulture, our region and our children, who will be able to take over our estates with peace of mind", points out Thiébault Huber, President of the CAVB and Treasurer of the CNAOC (Confédération Nationale des producteurs de vins et eaux de vie de vin à Appellations d'Origine Contrôlées). It's not impossible that notaries will have their hands full in 2025...
Christophe Tupinier
Photography : Thierry Gaudillère
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