Press Releases
France's Boisset Buys California's "Seven Peaks" Purchase from Australia's Southcorp bolsters new world commitment
(SAN FRANCISCO) February 12, 2004 - A wholly owned subsidiary of France's third-largest wine producer, Boisset America, formally announced today that it has purchased the Seven Peaks brand from Southcorp, makers of Penfolds, Rosemount Estate, Lindemans and Wynns wines. Boisset America had just completed the acquisition of the DeLoach brand when the purchase of Seven Peaks was completed in December 2003. In addition Boisset America already owns Sonoma County's Lyeth and William Wheeler, along with several other California brands created by the company including Joliesse and Christophe.
"This purchase is part of our overall California strategy to produce ultra-premium quality, terroir-driven wines representing real value to the consumer," said Jean-Charles Boisset, Vice President and partner in the closely held company. "With the addition of the prestigious Seven Peaks brand we will be able to showcase the Central Coast's unique qualities in Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet, and our company's specialties, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir," Boisset said.
Negotiations are underway with Central Coast grapegrowers to provide the fruit for the brand, and an agreement is in the works with the Niven family, the pioneers and original partners in Seven Peaks with Southcorp, Boisset said.
The four-year old 60,000 case brand had received very high marks from critics and wine publications for its full range of wines, and had established distribution throughout the country under Southcorp. For maximum continuity Boisset said he plans to reduce production initially to around 20,000 cases, in order to keep quality extremely high, and to concentrate on the unique terroir, or local soil and climatic influence, of the region stretching from the Paso Robles-Monterey area to San Luis Obispo. The area is currently known best for Cabernet, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
