Virginia’s RdV Vineyards has been acquired by Eutopia Estates, set to be the new brand name for the Bouygues family’s wine portfolio and which includes Château Montrose in Bordeaux.
Under the deal, RdV Vineyards will also be renamed Lost Mountain. It has been named after its founder, Rutger de Vink, since being established in 2006.
It is the Bouygues family’s first winery purchase outside France. While several Bordeaux estate owners have purchased properties in California, the deal also reflects RdV’s success with ‘Bordeaux’ grape varieties in Virginia.
Its 37.6-hectare (93-acre) estate has 7.3 hectares (18 acres) of vineyard, of which 50% is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, with 22% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 8% Petit Verdot.
A bottle of ‘American grand cru’ Lost Mountain. Photo credit: Eutopia Estates.
Wines include ‘American grand cru’ Lost Mountain and also Rendezvous, with production of around 1,200 and 1,000 cases per year respectively, according to a press statement.
Financial details of the acquisition deal haven’t been disclosed, although RdV founding winemaker Joshua Grainer MW will continue at the estate, as both winemaker and MD.
Pierre Graffeuille will be CEO and president of the new-look Lost Mountain.
Graffeuille is CEO of Montrose and also MD of the Bouygues family’s SCDM wine business, now to be known as Eutopia Estates and which also includes Château Tronquoy in Bordeaux, Clos Rougeard in the Loire Valley and Domaine Rebourseau in Burgundy. Charlotte Bouygues is leading Eutopia’s strategic development.
RdV’s oenological consultant Eric Boissenot is highly respected for his work with many top Bordeaux châteaux, especially on the Left Bank, while the group also works with well-regarded viticulture consultant Jean-Philippe Roby.
Both were named in the team set to take the group forward into its new Lost Mountain chapter.
Brothers Martin and Olivier Bouygues have business interests in telecoms, construction and media, and the family had an estimated fortune of €3.75bn (£3.16bn) in 2023, according to French magazine Challenges.
Montrose was the brothers’ first winery purchase, in 2006. They have invested significantly in the estate, including by renovating its cellars.
Recently released Montrose 2023 was rated 98 points by Decanter’s Bordeaux correspondent, Georgie Hindle, making it one of the top-rated wines of this still-in-barrel vintage.
Alongside the wineries mentioned above, Eutopia Estates also includes Distillerie de la Métairie in Cognac and a truffle farm in Chinon, Loire Valley, named La Truffière de Cément.
