Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines Augments Luxury Import Portfolio with Roses from Provence

NAPA, Calif., April 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Beginning this month, Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines (DC&E) has added a collection of roses from Provence to its prestigious portfolio of imports for the American market.  DC&E has been granted exclusive U.S. importing rights to Chateau Minuty roses.  Regarded as the top producer of Cotes de Provence rose in the Cote d'Azur region, Chateau Minuty has been owned and run by the Matton-Farnet family since 1930.

Overlooking the Bay of St. Tropez, the vineyards of Chateau Minuty are situated on the slopes of the villages of Gassin and Ramatuelle.  Chateau Minuty is one of the last family-owned estates in the Cotes de Provence region to exclusively hand harvest in order to ensure the grapes are intact and undamaged when they arrive at the cellars. These wines can be found and enjoyed at the best restaurants around the world.

The addition of Chateau Minuty is part of DC&E's strategy to seek out and add best-in-class wines from the most important wine regions throughout the world.  This is DC&E's first foray into the booming category of rose.  According to Nielsen, U.S. sales of non-sparkling rose wine grew 25 percent last year and are continuing to grow. 

"As a category, rose shows no signs of slowing and we're excited to be able to work with the Matton-Farnet family to bring the top Provencal rose in Europe and the Caribbean to wine lovers in the U.S.," said Claudia Schubert, President, DC&E Wines.

"Chateau Minuty is honored to join the prestigious DC&E portfolio of top Burgundy, Spanish and South American estates.  Our partnership with DC&E will allow Chateau Minuty roses to be enjoyed in the best restaurants in all 50 states," said Francois Matton, owner of Chateau Minuty.

DC&E will begin by importing three Chateau Minuty roses: Prestige rose 2013, M de Minuty rose 2013, and rose et Or 2013. Prestige rose is comprised of 90 percent Grenache and 10 percent Tibouren grape varieties; M de Minuty rose is 50 percent Grenache, 15 percent Tibouren and 35 percent Cinsault; and rose et Or is 95 percent Grenache and five percent Syrah.  Suggested retail price for Prestige rose will be about $30/bottle, M de Minuty rose about $20/bottle, and rose et Or about $60/bottle.  The wines are available now in the finest restaurants and top retailers nationally.

The DC&E U.S. portfolio is composed of prestigious and historic California properties including Beaulieu Vineyard, Sterling Vineyards, Provenance, Acacia and Rosenblum Cellars in the Napa Valley, as well as Chalone Estate in the central coast. This addition of Chateau Minuty expands and rounds out DC&E's prestigious import portfolio including 18 estates in Burgundy (Domaines Pierre Gelin, Georges Roumier, Jean Grivot, Anne Gros, Aurelian Verdet, Tollot-Beaut, Courcel, Pierre Matrot, Blain-Gagnard, Jacques Gagnard-Delagrange, Michel Niellon, Bruno Colin, Philippe Colin, Alain Chavy, Jean-Louis Chavy, Laurent Cognard, Auvigue, and Vocoret), Domaine Anne Gros in Vosne-Romanee, Domaine Anne Gros & Jean-Paul Tollot wines from the Minervois region of France, Almaviva from Chile, Navarro Correas from Argentina, and Campo Eliseo and Campo Alegre from Spain.

About Diageo

Diageo (Dee-AH-Gee-O) is the world's leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, beer and wine. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, JεB, Windsor, Buchanan's and Bushmills whiskies, Smirnoff, Ciroc and Ketel One vodkas, Baileys, Captain Morgan, Tanqueray, Guinness, Beaulieu Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards Wines.

Diageo is a global company, with its products sold in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE). For more information about Diageo, its people, brands, and performance, visit us at Diageo.com. For our global resource that promotes responsible drinking through the sharing of best practice tools, information and initiatives, visit DRINKiQ.com.

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SOURCE Diageo