PARIS, Oct. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- After thirty years dedicated to Château Margaux, Philippe Bascaules will retire and step down as Managing Director at the end of 2026. Aurélien Valance, currently Deputy Managing Director, Sales and Operations, will succeed him as of 1 December 2026. This transition reflects a spirit of continuity and knowledge transfer, supported by an experienced and longstanding team committed to the estate.
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Philippe Bascaules: 30 years dedicated to Château Margaux
An agricultural engineer, Philippe Bascaules joined Château Margaux in 1990 as Director of Operations. He held this position until 2011, before spending five years at the helm of a prestigious vineyard in Napa Valley. In March 2017, he returned to Château Margaux, this time as Managing Director.
Throughout these years, his experience and deep knowledge of the estate have been invaluable in ensuring its long-term continuity. From December 2026, Philippe Bascaules will hand over his responsibilities as Managing Director of the estate to Aurélien Valance. He will, however, continue to support the estate as a consultant on specific assignments during key technical periods, including the harvest, winemaking and blending, alongside Éric Boissenot, Château Margaux's consulting oenologist for the past 35 years. The estate will therefore continue to benefit from his experience and intimate knowledge of the vineyard.
"Philippe has devoted the greater part of his professional life to Château Margaux, and I would like to express our deepest gratitude to him for his commitment, his availability and the high standards with which he has always served the estate. Beyond his expertise and exceptional knowledge of the property, I would also like to recognise his outstanding human qualities." Alexis Leven-Mentzelopoulos, Co-owner and CEO of Château Margaux
The future through continuity
The appointment of Aurélien Valance as Managing Director naturally reflects this commitment to continuity and the transmission of knowledge.
His history with Château Margaux began in 2001, when he first joined the estate as an intern. Following his studies at HEC Paris and experience in New York working in wine importing, he returned to the estate in January 2006 as Commercial Director. In 2016, he was appointed Deputy Managing Director, Sales and Operations. The following year, he won the title of French Blind Tasting Champion.
Twenty years after first joining the estate, Aurélien Valance has an intimate knowledge of its history, wines, teams and markets. His appointment therefore continues a career built within Château Margaux itself and reflects the confidence placed in those who have supported the estate over the long term.
"Aurélien has known Château Margaux for twenty years and shares its culture, high standards and values at a profound level. His appointment is a natural continuation of our history," says Alexis Leven-Mentzelopoulos.
This continuity is also underpinned by an experienced technical team. Having joined the estate on 6 May 2026, Benjamin Vimal serves as Technical and Operations Director and oversees all technical operations, from the vineyard through to bottling. Alongside him, Blandine de Rouffignac, who has been with Château Margaux since 2018 and is now Director of Research & Development, leads the estate's experimental programmes, enabling it to anticipate future challenges and support the evolution of its practices.
This complementarity between technical expertise and research reflects Château Margaux's commitment to preparing for the future while preserving the identity of its terroir and wines over the long term.
"I would like to thank Alexis Leven-Mentzelopoulos for the trust he has placed in me. It is a great honour to take on the role of Managing Director of Château Margaux, an estate I have known for twenty years and to which I feel deeply attached. I approach this responsibility with great humility, but also with the strength of an experienced and committed team. I wish to continue the work carried out with Philippe and with all those who bring the estate to life every day. Together with Benjamin Vimal and Blandine de Rouffignac, we can draw on complementary areas of expertise and a deep knowledge of Château Margaux. Our collective responsibility is to preserve what makes it unique, while continuing to prepare for its future with the highest standards of excellence."
Aurélien Valance, Managing Director of Château Margaux
Contact:
Johana Loubet - j.loubet@chateau-margaux.com
WWW.CHATEAU-MARGAUX.COM
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CHÂTEAU MARGAUX ANNOUNCES THE APPOINTMENT OF AURÉLIEN VALANCE AS MANAGING DIRECTOR
SHANGHAI, Oct. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2026 Global Food Festival • Xuhui First Boundless Gourmet Moments Carnival and Golden Autumn Shopping Season officially opened on September 30 at the outdoor plaza of New 600 YOUNG in Xuhui District. The event is under the guidance of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, the Shanghai Municipal Grain and Strategic Reserves Administration, and the Xuhui District People's Government; co-hosted by the Shanghai Commercial Federation and the Xuhui District Commission of Commerce; and organized by Shanghai Xuhui Commercial (Group) Co., Ltd.
As one of the "Shanghai Global Food Festival" series, the event runs from September 30 to November 8 in the Xujiahui Commercial Circle. It adopts a model of "one launch ceremony, one month of continuous promotions, and three special themed events," while linking with the Golden Autumn Shopping Season to create a distinctive themed program. The commercial circle integrates commercial, dining, cultural, and tourism resources across the area. Centered on themes such as the "IP economy" and "culture and arts," it presents IP pop-ups, cultural and artistic events, and other themed activities. By combining food experiences, holiday promotions, specialty markets, and interactive themed events, the event expands new dining consumption scenarios and drives offline foot traffic. It also extends Mid-Autumn Festival consumption momentum and adds special National Day mall promotions, building a district-wide, online-and-offline Golden Autumn consumption matrix. This further strengthens Xujiahui's profile as a core international consumption commercial district and enriches residents' and tourists' one-stop eat, drink, play, and shop experience.
2026 Global Food Festival • Xuhui First Boundless Gourmet Moments Carnival
As the first Boundless Gourmet Moments Carnival under the "Shanghai Global Food Festival" series IP to be held in Xuhui, the event closely follows the development of an international consumption center city and the city's consumer promotion initiatives. It links key commercial venues in the business district, including Grand Gateway 66, New 600 YOUNG, Metro City, Huijin Department Store, and Huilian Commercial Building, and connects merchants along the Hengshan Road service road and Tianyaoqiao Road. Together, these form a multi-point, interconnected food consumption network throughout the Golden Autumn, further enriching dining supply and stimulating offline consumer vitality in the commercial circle.
During the event, three special themed markets will be staged in succession. From September 30 to October 4, the Global Noodle Convention will open first under the theme "The Infinite Possibilities of a Bowl of Noodles." More than 40 specialty merchants will present features such as one-day store managers and limited-edition noodle blind boxes, along with activities including a sneaky-eating contest, "ramen" master interactions, and stamp collection for gifts. From October 21 to 25, the Amazing Burger Festival will gather nationally known burger brands and popular long-queue favorites from across the country, offering limited-edition burgers, creative new products, and nonstop music parties. From November 6 to 8, the Gan Gan Hao Sweet Soup Festival, Shanghai's first sweet soup-themed market, will bring together 50 sweet soup brands and set up special zones for classic traditional, Cantonese-Chaoshan, and creative ice desserts, with interactive experiences such as a sweet soup eating contest and a Sweet Passport stamp collection. Running through the entire event with noodles, burgers, and sweet soups, the three markets form a multi-level, high-quality Golden Autumn specialty market matrix.
The event also connects consumption links across the commercial circle, promoting foot traffic exchange and business format complementarity between venues. Dining merchants in the commercial circle will jointly launch special set menus, new product debuts, birthday noodle benefits, and other special offerings. They will also partner with the Douyin platform to launch the commercial circle's first online hub. Whether users are Shanghai locals or visitors to the city, simply searching "Xujiahui" will allow them to more quickly discover the latest activities, discount packages, check-in routes, and exclusive Douyin consumption coupons in the Xujiahui Commercial Circle.
At the same time, the commercial circle will install themed displays and special photo check-in installations, linking food check-in routes and connecting with Xuhui's Golden Autumn cultural and tourism resources to create a rich Golden Autumn consumption atmosphere. A bowl of noodles, a burger, and a bowl of sweet soup connect Xujiahui's local buzz, trendy feel, and international flair, allowing residents and tourists to enjoy Golden Autumn flavors from street to shop and experience the city's lively spirit and consumption vitality. This is the most vivid Golden Autumn footnote to "Come to Xujiahui, Let's Meet."
2026 Xuhui Golden Autumn Shopping Season
The Xuhui Golden Autumn Shopping Season has also officially launched. It coordinates the three major areas of Xujiahui, Xuhui Riverside, and Caohejing in a differentiated and interconnected way. With distinctive scenes and multi-level public-benefit policies, it presents a rich array of holiday themed activities and consumer promotion measures. Together with the Boundless Gourmet Moments Carnival, it forms a "food + shopping" dual-engine drive, offering residents and tourists a spectacular Golden Autumn consumption feast and further unleashing Golden Autumn consumption potential.
The Xujiahui Commercial Circle takes Tianyaoqiao Road as its core axis and installs autumn-themed displays across the area, creating a holiday block full of atmosphere. The world's first native intelligent agent robot, "Galaxy Star Boy" (Galbot ET1), makes its offline debut at TPY Center, while New 600 YOUNG introduces the intelligent emotional robot Bibo. Nighttime consumption scenes are equally exciting: ITC Mall joins the Shanghai Light and Shadow Festival to create an exclusive light-and-shadow experience space, "Floating Light Night Tour," and Metro City's popular big orange cat returns for a limited time. Technology interaction and artistic light and shadow complement each other, adding distinctive charm to the city's nightscape and fully energizing Xujiahui's nighttime consumption.
Xuhui Riverside adheres to the integration of culture, tourism, sports, and exhibitions, launching a series of content-rich holiday themed activities. West Bund Dream Center and West Bund Fengchao join the Shanghai Light and Shadow Festival to stage the themed light show "Huiguang Qixin • Art and Digital Wonder," while simultaneously launching the GATE M commercial district promotion. West Bund Zhongjing presents a classic car static exhibition and the five-senses light-and-shadow healing show Resonance. Longhua Hui creates the "Longhua Autumn Fair • Eight Immortals Blessings" autumn garden party, gathering themed markets, live music, and other diverse content. Greenland Being Fun opens the "Ha Zha Jin Consumption Season," hosts an amateur Muay Thai special tournament, and joins the Tourism Authority of Thailand to create an immersive Thai-themed market, shaping a unique differentiated holiday experience with "passionate competition + exotic cultural tourism."
For young people and families with children, the Caohejing Yuanjie Block launches the "Yuanjie Autumn Adventure Season" themed activity. Xinyao Guanghuan Live holds the Season 3 premiere of White Cat Legend, with the Tata Adventure Team offline pop-up appearing simultaneously. The A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality animation offline themed activity lands at Yuejie Jinshang City, leveraging Chinese animation IP to create trendy holiday destinations for young people.
Multiple consumption coupons and public-benefit subsidies are a major highlight of this Xuhui Golden Autumn Shopping Season. During the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day, Xuhui launches the "Enjoy Xuhui" series of consumer promotion activities across the district, building an integrated online-and-offline public-benefit system. Online, it relies on the Tmall platform to offer payment discounts; offline, it links with UnionPay QuickPass and the West Bund Life platform to launch dual benefits of timed coupon grabs and in-store redemption discounts. Targeted benefits in the commercial circle precisely cover different areas: West Bund Dream Center issues late-night discount coupons to help boost nighttime dining consumption at the riverside; Caohejing Yuanjie Block launches Yuanjie Fun Shopping Coupons, usable at designated merchants in commercial complexes such as Xinyao Guanghuan Live and Yuejie Jinshang City. The second round of Xuhui District's 2026 automobile subsidies is also being carried out simultaneously, lasting until October 31, with layer upon layer of public-benefit dividends continuously releasing consumption potential.
In recent years, Xuhui District has continued to deepen business format transformation and upgrading, constantly enhancing the competitiveness of its core commercial circles and promoting deep linkage and integrated development of culture, commerce, tourism, sports, and exhibitions. Closely following residents' lives and consumption preferences, it continues to create new distinctive consumption scenes, gathering popularity through a series of consumer promotion activities, fully stimulating the vitality of the consumer market, keeping the city's lively atmosphere rising, and better meeting residents' diverse demand for quality consumption.
Event Convenience Information
Time: September 30 to November 8, 2026
Address: Xujiahui Commercial Circle (main venue: Outdoor Plaza of New 600 YOUNG; participating malls: Grand Gateway 66, Metro City, Huijin Department Store, Huilian Commercial Building, etc.)
Transportation: Direct access via Metro Lines 1, 9, and 11 to Xujiahui Station.
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Let's Meet in Xujiahui | 2026 Global Food Festival • Xuhui First Boundless Gourmet Moments Carnival and Golden Autumn Shopping Season Officially Opens
