Delas Frères joins MMD portfolio

Rhône producer Delas Frères will be distributed in the UK by Maisons Marques et Domaines from 1 April this year it has been announced.

Founded in 1835, Delas’s standing among the Rhône’s producers has risen steadily in recent years, especially under CEO Fabrice Rosset and winemakers Jacques Grange and Claire Darnaud.

Richard Billett, managing director of MMD, commented: “We are delighted to be welcoming Delas into the MMD UK portfolio as this historic Rhône producer not only fills an obvious gap in the portfolio but also complements perfectly our existing proposition from France.

“We are excited about the opportunities its arrival will offer us to engage with our customers in a category whose great diversity of style, price point and appeal make it a key appellation for both the on and off-trade. Delas Frères is owned by Champagne Deutz and has a strong association to our parent company, Champagne Louis Roederer, making it a truly excellent fit for MMD. We are therefore extremely pleased to see it come into group distribution, and look forward to managing it through a new era.”

Fabrice Rosset, CEO of Delas Frères, added: “Delas Frères is going from strength to strength worldwide. 2017 was another all-time record in terms of volume and quality recognition. A new era is opening up with the state-of-the-art new winery in Tain l’Hermitage. With vineyard acquisition over the last two decades, Delas Frères benefits of tremendous assets which, I am very confident, MMD will further develop. As a co-founder of MMD UK many years ago, 1 April will be a great day in my life”.

MMD is the UK subsidiary of Champagne Louis Roederer and as well as that house’s Champagnes, is the UK distributor of the other wines in Roederer’s ‘family’ of estates: Domaines Ott, Ramos Pinto, Château Pichon Lalande, Château de Pez and Château Haut Beauséjour, as well as Pio Cesare and Marques de Murrieta.