Inside Kraken’s VIP château retreat: a weekend in Saint-Émilion

• In July 2025, we brought a select group of Kraken VIP clients to Hôtel Grand Barrail in Saint-Émilion, France, for a curated Château Retreat: a full weekend of world-class hospitality, wine, and unique experiences, coordinated entirely by our in-house team.
  
• Guests had direct access to our senior leadership, including a market outlook from Chief Economist Thomas Perfumo and a CEO Fireside Chat with co-CEOs Arjun Sethi and David Ripley.
  
• The signature event: a private evening at Château Pavie, featuring a guided wine tasting of three legendary vintages, the ceremonial opening of a 27-liter Primat 2015, and a six-course dinner by two-Michelin-star chef Sébastien Faramond.
  
• Kraken VIP is built around access to things you can’t simply buy a ticket to. This weekend was a testament to that.

Some relationships get built in meetings. The best ones get built over a weekend in the heart of Bordeaux.

In July 2025, we welcomed a select group of Kraken VIP clients to Hôtel Grand Barrail in Saint-Émilion, France, for three days of curated hospitality, honest conversations, and experiences that can’t be replicated on a call.

Every detail was planned and executed by our team in-house, from the opening reception on the terrace to the final drink at the hotel bar. No outside agency. Just us, and the clients who matter most.

Hôtel Grand Barrail is a 19th-century château turned five-star hotel, set among the vineyards just outside Saint-Émilion, a medieval village and UNESCO World Heritage Site in the heart of Bordeaux wine country.

Guests arrived on Friday afternoon to a welcome lounge stocked with drinks and light bites, with the rest of the afternoon free: the pool, the Spa by Sothys, and the château grounds. The evening opened with champagne and canapés on the terrace, a first chance for the group to gather, before a private dinner featuring the hotel’s Terroir menu, paired with regional wines.

The morning session in the Marzelle Room was reserved exclusively for clients: a frank, high-level conversation about markets, crypto, and where we’re headed.

Thomas Perfumo, our Chief Economist, opened with a 45-minute market overview. Then Arjun Sethi and David Ripley, our co-CEOs, took the floor for the CEO Fireside Chat, an open conversation about the road ahead for the platform and the broader industry.

After lunch, clients selected their afternoon from a curated set of experiences:

• A Retro Car Wine Tour through the vineyards by vintage car and sidecar, with a private tasting at a local estate

• A visit and tasting at Château de Pressac, a renowned Saint-Émilion estate a short drive from the hotel
• A guided walk through the UNESCO World Heritage village of Saint-Émilion, exploring medieval streets and historic wine caves
• An afternoon at the Spa by Sothys and pool, reserved exclusively for our group

In the evening, coaches left for the short drive to Château Pavie, a Premier Grand Cru Classé (A) estate and one of the most revered names in Bordeaux. Guests arrived to a welcome in the courtyard with Champagne Telmont, a tour of the estate covering its history, its family, and its winemaking, with a jazz band playing through the evening.

Then: a guided vertical tasting of Château Pavie across three legendary vintages, the 2000, the 2005, and the 2010, followed by the ceremonial opening of a 27-liter Primat of the iconic 2015 vintage. Dinner followed: six courses by Chef Sébastien Faramond, two Michelin stars, with the Primat 2015 poured throughout.

The terrace came alive afterward, with a DJ, cigars, and Louis XIII cognac for those who preferred the night air. Transport ran back to the hotel in waves, where the bar stayed open for a final round.

Our Château Retreat was months in the making, and it represents exactly what we intend Kraken VIP to be: access to something genuinely singular, built around our deepest relationships.

Something else happens at a gathering like this. The clients who came to Saint-Émilion arrived knowing Kraken. Many left knowing each other. Friendships formed and deepened over the course of the weekend. Some of those relationships have since branched into conversations, collaborations, and opportunities that are entirely their own.

Being a Kraken VIP means institutional-grade execution, dedicated relationship managers, and full access to VIP products and services. It also means this: dinners you didn’t expect, direct conversations with our co-CEOs, and weekends that don’t happen anywhere else.

The next VIP retreat is loading. If you think you might qualify for Kraken VIP and are ready to take your seat at the table, get in touch. We’d be glad to talk.

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