If the ornate ballroom on this 173-acre estate seems familiar, you might be one of the 222 million people who’ve streamed the video for Adele’s 2021 hit “Easy On Me.” Quebec director Xavier Dolan shot the clip inside the stately salon, part of a complex built in 1990 by Montreal antique dealer and Czech immigrant Henrietta Antony.
The seller, entrepreneur Benoit Dumont, transformed the property into an award-winning vineyard, event venue and maple-syrup production hub. Set about six miles east of the town of Sutton, Quebec, the estate is dubbed Domaine Dumont Chapelle Ste-Agnès, also the label on its wines.
Ms. Antony, the original owner, took inspiration from European villas to design the estate, listing agent David O’Malley said. “She built it from scratch, and invested more than C$20 million in this property, he said. “It’s a masterpiece, and a one-of-a-kind domain. There’s zero chance you could build something like this today—the cost would be double, and you can’t find that kind of craftsmanship anymore.”
The estate includes 18 hand-laid stone walls with terraces, he added.
Along with a one-bedroom house and small guesthouse, where Mr. Dumont would host short-term rentals, the estate boasts a castle-style hall and a stone chapel named for St. Agnes. Most rooms in the castle feature high ceilings and inlaid floors, including a ballroom that can accommodate up to 150 guests.
Beneath the property, the original owner built a medieval-style cellar complex for winemaking: Four temperature-controlled underground levels that house winemaking equipment, barrel vaults and tasting rooms. Mr. Dumont converted one of those spaces into a sleek concrete gallery to display artwork from his own collection. The property is being sold furnished, including all of its antiques and artwork, “many of which date back centuries,” Mr. O’Malley said.
Sutton’s property market has been torrid since the onset of Covid-19, indeed this very home found a buyer shortly after Mr. O’Malley spoke with Mansion Global.
“We’re seeing bidding wars, which we did not used to have,” Mr. O’Malley said. “The main storyline since Covid is that people from Montreal are moving here. There are a lot of cash buyers, and they’re getting more aggressive—sellers sometimes don’t move as fast as buyers would like.”
Changes in work arrangements have meant “we’re seeing a lot of young entrepreneurs, and a lot of young families. With a high-speed internet connection, you can work from anywhere. That has flooded the market with new buyers seeking a new lifestyle.” Prices have risen an average of 25% to 30% since the pandemic started, he estimated.
Article Source: Mansion Global
