Historic French wine chateau demolished "by mistake"

Right. A priceless 18th-Century chateau, the landmark for its little town, was demolished (compeltely; to the ground) "by mistake." Sure, I can see that. It almost happened to the Washington Monument once ;)

There's an investigation; I predict it will find that the new owner of the property, a Russian businessman, ordered its demolition after getting city approval for a renovation (which would have preserved the building).

Pretty fishy! The businessman assures us that he will rebuild the home exactly as it was. That's a new twist on the Las Vegas approach.

Interesting: I've sold this place's wine to you: Chateau Bellevue. The vineyards are not affected. But here is what was lost: