Louis Roederer launches first biodynamic champagne

Louis Roederer has announced this week the release of its 2012 Cristal, the first to be made from 100% biodynamically farmed grapes. The house has been implementing biodynamics in its vineyards for the past 10 years and so far has converted 50% of their plots, while the remainder is 50% organic.

Louis Roederer has hailed the release as the “first-born from this new viticulture”. The 2012 vintage is a blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay with a dosage of 7.5g/l.

The 2012 vintage was described in a statement as “one of the most challenging and complicated years ever experienced in Champagne”, and while yields were low, warmer weather towards the end of the season led to “unusual levels of maturity” and with that, “full-bodied and structured wines”.

Website:  https://www.louis-roederer.com

 

Celebrating 40 Years of Bollinger and James Bond

Champagne Bollinger is celebrating its 40th-year partnership with James Bond with a Limited Edition Millésimé 2011.

To mark the release of the upcoming movie No Time To Die, the 25th installment of the James Bond series, Bollinger has created a limited-edition dedicated to 007, with a 2011 vintage. The jet-black 75cl bottle is adorned with the number “25”, formed from the titles of the previous films, which are similarly etched on the glass of the wooden box. The 2011 vintage, created entirely from Pinot Noir from the Grand Cru village of Aÿ, where the House was first established in 1829. This is the first time that both the vintage and village have been used exclusively by Bollinger to make a dedicated wine. The 2011 harvest in Aÿ, produced complex, powerful and harmonious Pinot Noirs, fully expressed in this characterful wine.

Released by pre-sale on 5 October to mark James Bond Day, with an RRP of £150.

Tasting notes:

The decision to use Pinot Noir for this 2011 vintage, exclusively from the home village of Aÿ with its mighty fruit is nothing short of brilliant. Perhaps wait about ten years until the wine has reached its peak and completely integrated its enormous fruit with the barrel notes, but the wine is already magnificent with its deep ripe aroma of apples, backed by fresh wooden notes. House typical and powerful.

The first bottle of Bollinger appeared alongside 007 in 1979 with the release of Moonraker. Since then, the association has gone on to inspire numerous limited-edition bottles, with the Bollinger cooperage also home to a collection of vintage Bond posters.

Commenting on this milestone, Etienne Bizot, CEO of Société Jacques Bollinger, states: “It brings me an immense amount of pride to be celebrating 40 years of partnership between Bollinger and James Bond, it is a testament to the friendship started in 1979, between my father Christian Bizot and James Bond producer Cubby Broccoli. A friendship based on our shared values such as excellence and elegance.”

www.champagne-bollinger.com

 

Champagne Sales 2018: Record High of €4.9 billion

Total volume of Champagne shipments declined by 1.8% in 2018 to 301.9 million bottles, with a total turnover reaching €4.9 billion – 0.3% higher than in 2017.

As reported by the Comité Champagne at Prowein today, exports of Champagne are on an upward trajectory, rising by 0.6% in volume and 1.8% in revenue.

In Champagne’s more traditional markets of France and the UK, which together account for 60% of total sales, volumes dropped by around 4% each, while by value turnover slipped by around 2% in both markets.

The UK market, which remains the largest export market by volume, imported 26.7m bottles in 2018, a decline of 3.6%, while value reached €406.2m, a drop of 2.2% – making it the second biggest export market by value after the USA.

However, demand is most dynamic beyond the European Union. The USA, which remains the biggest export market by value and second biggest by volume, saw exports rise by 2.7% to 23.7 million bottles. To Japan, exports increased by 5.5% to 13.6 million bottles, while exports to the “Chinese triangle” (mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan) increased by 9.1% to 4.7 million bottles.

Following very significant growth over the past decade (+134%), Australia saw imports of Champagne dip slightly, by 1.8%, to 8.4m bottles, which was attributed to a “less favourable exchange rate”.

Other countries are emerging stronger for Champagne, including Canada which increased its imports by 4.8% to 2.3 million bottles, Mexico by 4.3% to 1.7m bottles, and South Africa, where sales topped the million-bottle mark for the very first time, recording growth of 38.4% by volume and by 43.4% by value – the highest increase of any market on both counts.

“The 2018 results validate the value creation strategy of the Champagne region, based on a continual pursuit of exceptional quality and rigorous environmental targets,” the Comité Champagne said. “From an agronomic point of view, 2018 was an unprecedented year with a bumper harvest of outstanding quality, boding extremely well for the future Champagne cuvées.”

Champagne shipments* over the past 10 years:

2018: 301.9m

2017: 307.3m

2016: 306.1m

2015: 313m

2014: 307m

2013: 305m

2012: 309m

2011: 323m

2010: 319m

2009: 293m

Source:  Drinks Business and Just Drinks

Canadian Rapper Drake launches Champagne range called “Mod Sélection”

Canadian rapper Drake has expanded his drinks empire, once again teaming up with American drinks entrepreneur Brent Hocking to launch a Champagne range called Mod Sélection.

Described as “the purest expression of balance and terroir produced in champagne today,” the House of Mod Sélection dates back to 1892 and has produced Champagne for over five generations in the Vallée de la Marne.

According to Mod Sélection: “The house practices minimal interventional throughout harvest, press, and production, ensuring the purest display of balance and terroir in every cuvée. Only grapes demonstrating optimal levels of sugar, acidity, and maturity are selected for press.

“The most delicate extraction and juice selection, meticulous settling, natural clarification, and rigorous control of fermentations are carried out with exacting precision to preserve the balance, purity and finesse unique to Mod Sélection house style and production.”

In the bottles in Mod Sélection range include Mod Réserve Champagne (US$300) and a Mod Rosé Champagne (US$400) that are available to pre-order now in 750ml bottles, with magnums and jeroboams in the works. The metallic brown bottle is adorned with handcrafted delicate flowers, and each individual bottle is unique in its design details.

In a promotional video to announce the launch, Drake said: “The product is great, the presentation is great, and hopefully the representation is great as well. We’ll enjoy this run. It should be a long one and a strong one. I think the full package is there.”

Drake and Hocking first worked together back in 2016 when they launched Virginia Black Whiskey. Last year, they offered an IPO for the whiskey, hoping to raise $30 million to fund domestic and international expansion, sales and marketing, and working capital.

Website:

Social
#BLESSTHISHOUSE
@MODSELECTIONCHAMPAGNE

Source: Drinks Business

Wine Review: Champagne Gosset Grand Reserve Brut NV

The “Grande Reserve” is a mix of three vintages, with a blend of the three standard grape varieties: Chardonnay 45%, Pinot Noir 45%, and Pinot Meunier.

Vineyard Sources: Aÿ, Bouzy, Ambonnay, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Villers-Marmery

The wine does not go through a malolactic fermentation, which is typical of the house style.

Tasting Notes

This cuvée sums up the Gosset style in its decisive texture and crisp with firm acidity; it shows enticing maturity; it’s well-balance and expressive; great fruitiness and mineral tension.
This is a Champagne to drink now.

92/100