AIB chairman Mr Lochlainn Quinn and his wife, Brenda, have joined the "Wine Geese" of Bordeaux with the purchase of the Chateau de Fieuzal vineyard for £36 million.
The chateau, on the outskirts of Leognan near Saucats, produces 155,000 bottles of red and 48,000 bottles of white wine annually. The wines retail at between £20 and £30 a bottle and are well regarded by the wine industry.
Chateau de Fieuzal has well established links with the wealthy and influential. One of its owners in the late 1800s was consul to Pope Leo XIII, who stocked his cellars with bottles from the chateau in 1893. Other owners have included members of the Ricard family and, more recently, the bank group Banques Populaires.
Announcing the sale, Banques Populaires described Mr Quinn as an "oenophile" or wine lover who has "learned to appreciate the quality of this prestigious vintage of international repute." And given the couple's personal involvement in the acquisition, the bank said it was confident the vineyards would flourish under their direction. Mr Quinn was unavailable for comment yesterday.
The chateau is in the south of Bordeaux and would be ranked behind leading vineyards in the Medoc area. Some of the better producers are Margaux, Latour, Palmer, Cheval Blanc, Haut Brion.
Chateau de Fieuzal's fortunes have been reversed in the past 20 years. Reviews say its wines became noticeably richer and more complex since the mid-1980s with a series of stunning white Graves restoring its reputation. The Chateau employs 35 staff and has been for sale since last December.
The Quinns join the so called "Wine Geese" - the families who migrated from Ireland and established themselves in France in the wine trade. These include the Bartons of Chateaux Leoville-Barton and LangoaBarton, the Lynches of Chateau Lynch-Bages, the Kirwans, Clarkes, MacCarthys and Dillons.
Mr Quinn, a brother of Labour Party leader Mr Ruairi Quinn, was a co-founder of the international electrical appliance manufacturer, Glen Dimplex.
He held a small shareholding in the Dublin wine merchants, Findlaters, which was recently taken over by Cantrell & Cochrane.
Mr Quinn and his business partner, Mr Martin Naughton, own the 146-bedroom Merrion Hotel in Dublin which incorporates the acclaimed Patrick Guilbaud's restaurant.