Apologies if this sounds a little mean-spirited, but French wine regions don't get much more unfashionable than Bergerac.
Next to Bordeaux but certainly not Bordeaux, Bergerac is better known for its truffles than its wines. Attempts to establish iconic vineyards there have got the better of plenty of experienced wine hands.
Bernard Magrez, owner of Bordeaux's Chateau Pape Clement and 37 other estates worldwide, was one of them. He sold his Bergerac chateau in 2010, declaring: 'I didn't realise it would be so difficult to sell a Bergerac wine.'
So you have to hand it to Eugene Shvidler, who bought the vines from Magrez to increase the production of his own Chateau Thenac. He clearly sees something that others don't, and this is a man worth paying attention to.
Born in the city of Ufa, Russia, and now a US citizen, Shvidler is a billionaire several times over, having made his money in oil, gas and steel, with just a touch more coming from real estate and gold mining. He now lives in London full time, where he is a board member of MC Peat & Company, a firm of London stockbrokers run by former keeper of the privy purse and treasurer to the queen Michael Peat.
With all of this, it's fair to say that when Shvidler decided to add chateau owner to his many accomplishments, he could have chosen the easy route. He could, perhaps, have joined fellow Russian businessman Ilkham Ragimov, who in 2011 picked up sweet wine estate Clos Dady in the prestigious Bordeaux appellation of Sauternes, or followed the half dozen Russian businesses investing in Cognac.