Sogevinus strengthens still wine foothold with Boavista purchase

Port group Sogevinus has strengthened its position in the still / table wine market with the acquisition of Quinta da Boavista in Cima Corgo.

Sogevinus, which owns Port labels Kopke, Burmester, Cálem and Barros, bought the 80-hectare estate from Lima & Smith, a wine group which had owned Boavista since 2013.

Boavista, which was part of the first delimitation of the Douro region by the Marquis of Pombal in 1756, has long been associated with English merchant and wine shipper Joseph James Forrester, better known as Baron Forrester, who owned the estate in the 19th century.

Located on the right bank of the Douro, the estate comprises 36ha of vineyards on hand-built schist terraces of up to 8-metres in height. It is planted with varieties including white grape Donzelinho and reds Tinto Cão and Touriga Nacional.

Boavista also has a large area of old vines which are used to produce Quinta da Boavista Vinha do Oratório and Quinta da Boavista Vinha do Ujo, two unfortified reds that have received critical acclaim from the likes of Robert Parker.

The deal includes the Boa Vista and Quinta da Boavista, which Sogevinus describes as “high quality wines” which boost its “presence in the premium segment”. The financial terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed.

Sogevinus has been making table wine (Douro DOC) wines since 2006, and according to Dinheiro Vivo, it accounts for around an eighth of the total volume of wine made by the company.

Quinta da Boavista now joins Sogevinus’ other estates, which include Quinta de S. Luiz, Quinta do Arnozelo and Quinta do Bairro.

Sergio Marly, CEO of Sogevinus, said: “With a historic legacy in the Douro and following the strategy of consolidating still wines, we believe that the acquisition of Quinta da Boavista will decisively strengthen our portfolio of DOC wines, particularly in the premium segment. Quinta da Boavista has been very successful in recent years in the development of internationally recognised wines and our expectation is to continue to produce great wines here.”