Bancroft snaps up two SA producers from FMV

By Lisa Riley

Published: 24 September, 2020

Bancroft Wines has expanded its South African portfolio with Anthonij Rupert Wines and Constantia Glen, both of which were previously represented in the UK by Field, Morris & Verdin (FMV).

Anthonij Rupert’s portfolio is made up of L’Ormarins situated in Franschhoek, Rooderust in Darling, Riebeeksrivier in the Swartland and Altima in isolated Elandskloof, with each site offering “optimum varietal specific growing conditions”, said Bancroft.

With its terroir focus, Anthonij Rupert is driven by “quality and innovation, culminating in a portfolio of fantastic wines”, said Jilly Kinnear, buyer at Bancroft Wines.

Constantia Glen, which is located below Constantia Nek, produces Bordeaux blends with “great complexity and freshness perfectly complementing Bancroft’s South African portfolio”, she added.

In addition to Sauvignon Blanc and the ‘Two’ (a blend of Sauvignon Blanc with a touch of Sémillion), Constantia Glen produces the ‘Three’ – a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon Franc and Merlot’ and a ‘Five’, which includes the addition of Malbec and Petit Verdot.

“The addition of these two fantastic wineries to our portfolio only adds to our growing reputation for phenomenal wines from South Africa,” said Kinnear.

Anthonij Rupert said it was looking forward to working with “a likeminded company” and increasing the footprint of its range of wines going forward in the UK.

“We are excited to join the Bancroft portfolio of family owned wineries, which has a fantastic reputation and many years’ experience in the UK market,” said MD Gary Baumgarten.

Constantia Glen’s Alexander said: “We are very much looking forward to our cooperation with Bancroft Wines and are very happy to team up with such a long established and successful operator in these challenging times. The UK market has been one of our main export markets for the last 10 Years and we are very confident that we can continue growing this market together."

At the beginning of this month, Bancroft scooped up New Zealand’s Dog Point Vineyard from FMV, becoming the latest in a raft of importers and distributors to take on wineries from the beleaguered Berry Bros & Rudd wholesale arm, which is currently going through a restructure.