Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines Introduces First Spanish Wines to Luxury Portfolio of Imports for American Wine Drinkers

NAPA, Calif., Sept. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Beginning September 1^st, Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines (DC&E) has added two well-regarded Spanish wines to its prestigious portfolio of imports for the American market.  DC&E has been granted exclusive US importing rights to Campo Eliseo and Campo Alegre from the Toro appellation of Spain.  The two wines are a joint venture between world famous consultant and winemaker Michel Rolland, his accomplished Oenologist wife Dany and iconic Bordeaux-based wine maker and global wine innovator Francois Lurton. DC&E began shipping the 2008 Campo Eliseo and 2010 Campo Alegre earlier this month.

Campo Eliseo and Campo Alegre have earned very high regard in the beverage press, with the 2008 Campo Eliseo earning 94 points from Wine Spectator and the 2010 Campo Alegre receiving 91 points from the Wine Advocate.  Campo Eliseo and Campo Alegre are 100% Tinta de Toro, famous for wines of great power, depth and longevity.  These wines will be equally enjoyed by those who enjoy top quality Spanish wines as well as wine lovers who appreciate the Rolland/Lurton touch with their wines from California and Bordeaux.

The addition of Campo Eliseo and Campo Alegre is part of Diageo Chateau & Estates' strategy to seek out best-in-class wines from the most important wine regions throughout the world.  This is DC&E's first foray into the hot and growing category of Spanish wine. 

"We are honored to be adding Campo Eliseo and Campo Alegre to our luxury import collection," said Claudia Schubert, President, DC&E Wines.  "Our import collection includes wines from the most prestigious wine growing regions and producers.  Adding Campo Eliseo and Campo Alegre expands our portfolio with a great partner and outstanding wines." 

"We the producers of Campo Eliseo in Toro, are privileged and happy to have Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines as our U.S. importer.  We are proud to have our wines among this prestigious portfolio," said Francois Lurton.

Campo Eliseo is sourced from 50 to 75 year old vines and is Rolland and Lurton's signature Toro wine.  Campo Alegre is the venture's second wine, made from younger vines and lighter in style, but receiving the exact same attention as the Eliseo.  Suggested retail price for Campo Eliseo will be about $80/bottle and for Campo Alegre will be about $40/bottle.  The wines will be available immediately in the top 20 markets, including New York, Florida, Washington, DC, Texas and California, with availability elsewhere as demand dictates. 

The DC&E US portfolio is composed of prestigious and historic California properties including Beaulieu Vineyard, Sterling, Provenance, Acacia and Rosenblum Cellars in the Napa Valley as well as Chalone Estate in the central coast. This addition of Campo Eliseo and Campo Alegre expands and rounds out DC&E's prestigious import portfolio including 19 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, Ramonet, Bruno Colin, Philippe Colin, Alain Chavy, Jean-Louis Chavy, Laurent Cognard, Auvigue, and Vocoret), Almaviva from Chile and Navarro Correas from Argentina.  DC&E recently added the wines of Domaine Anne Gros in Vosne-Romanee and the Domaine Anne Gros & Jean-Paul Tollot wines from the Minervois region of France.

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.

Diageo: Celebrating life, every day, everywhere.

SOURCE Diageo