Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines (DC&E), a Napa, Calif.-based division of London-based Diageo plc, added two Spanish wines to its portfolio of imports for the American market. DC&E has been granted exclusive U.S. importing rights to Campo Eliseo and Campo Alegre wines from the Toro appellation of Spain. The wines are a joint venture between consultant and winemaker Michel Rolland; his oenologist wife, Dany; and Bordeaux-based winemaker and global wine innovator Francois Lurton. DC&E began shipping the 2008 Campo Eliseo and 2010 Campo Alegre earlier this month.

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, the company says.  This is DC&E's first foray into the Spanish wine category.  

"We are honored to be adding Campo Eliseo and Campo Alegre to our luxury import collection," said Claudia Schubert, president of DC&E Wines, in a statement. "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."  

Lurton added in a statement: "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.”

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, the company says. The suggested retail price for Campo Eliseo will be approximately $80 a bottle, and Campo Alegre will retail for approximately $40 a bottle. The wines will be available immediately in major markets, including New York, Florida, Texas, California and Washington, D.C., with availability elsewhere as demand dictates.  

The DC&E U.S. 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. The addition of Campo Eliseo and Campo Alegre expands and rounds out DC&E's import portfolio, including 19 estates in Burgundy, Almaviva from Chile, and Navarro Correas from Argentina. Additionally, 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.