JM Fonseca y van Zeller
Brand Profile
In keeping with Jose Maria da Fonseca’s century–old tradition of family–run business, brothers Antonio and Domingos Soares Franco have repeated the successful formula in this new partnership with Cristiano van Zeller.
The family link can be traced back three generations to Maria Ana Vasconcellos Porto Soares Franco (1884 – 1974), first cousin to Luis Vasconcellos Porto (1887 – 1967), who was Cristiano’s paternal great-grandfather. While the link may now be rather tenuous, it did play a decisive part in the ease and speed with which these distant cousins reached agreement and formed a new company with joint share-capital.
The Project
Initial talks about the Duoro and Porto occurred in the late eighties and in 1996 the purchase of JM da Fonseca Internacional Vinhos gave Jose Maria da Fonseca the incentive to rethink its market position.
The aim was to shed the image of a local, regional at best, producer. Having decided to concentrate future investments within Portugal, viable options were limited. In fact the Douro was the only Portuguese wine growing region capable of supporting the kind of expansion required while bringing added value to the company. Talks were reopened, objectives agreed on, strategy planned and the dream became reality.
The objectives were to optimize the excellence of grape varieties and Douro wines and Port, enhancing them with the image and credibility of Jose Maria da Fonseca. The realization of these objectives was the production of two Douro red wines (Domini and Domini Plus) and two Ports (Jose Maria da Fonseca & van Zeller Vintage and LBV Port).
The Land and the Wines
The immediate priority of Jose maria da Fonseca & van Zeller focused on land, through purchase and long term lease, a total of 31 hectares. In both cases there is a combination of old vines comprising an immense variety of traditional Douro grapes, with younger (10 – 15 year old) vines of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Tinta Roriz.
The frequency of production of the Douro wines and Port will naturally depend on the climate conditions of a specific year in conjunction with the maturation conditions of the company’s vines. It is fair to assume, therefore, that conditions will prevail to produce one of the Douro reds (Domini) every year, while the criteria for excellence for the other (Domini Plus) will mean more limited production. The Vintage and LBV Ports are subject to the same stringent criteria: thus LBV should be produced every year while Vintage Port will follow a similar pattern to Domini Plus.
Jose Maria da Fonseca & van Zeller is the first great challenge of the 21st century for Jose Maria da Fonseca – it is a priviledge for a company with 168 years of history to invest in a region with over two centuries of existence.
