Champagne Sales Set for Record Year

Champagne sales are set for a record year, driven by solid demand from export markets, favorable currencies and stabilizing sales in France, the fizzy drink’s home market.

Industry estimates gathered by Reuters showed that about 312 million bottles of the prestige sparkling wine will have been dispatched in 2015, a rise of between 2 and 3 percent from 2014.

Revenue has risen 4.4 percent to 4.7 billion euros ($5.1 billion) in 2015.

In 2007, the record year so far, revenues reached 4.56 billion euros, before the global economic and financial crisis began weighing on the market a year later.

The 2015 sales estimates reflected efforts to promote higher-priced products such as special blends and fine vintages, as well as growing demand for Rose Champagnes in Japan and the United States, Champagne’s second export market after Britain.

In Britain, a solid economy underpinned buoyant demand while austerity-hit Italy and Spain were starting to see signs of an upturn.

Economic woes in Champagne’s home market of France have taken the fizz out of global sales since 2010, but sales were stabilizing in volume and value this year and could even show a slight rise.

“France is on a recovery path. Consumption stabilised,” said Bruno Paillard, CEO of Lanson BCC, the number two Champagne house behind luxury group LVMH.

Sales were improving in French hypermarkets as well as in specialized stores.

“Consumers need to enjoy life,” said Paillard, adding lower energy prices and interest rates may have helped improve consumer purchasing power.

The Champagne market is dominated by LVMH, which owns the Dom Perignon, Moet & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Ruinart and Krug brands. Specialist makers include Lanson-BCC, Vranken or Laurent Perrier as well as drinks group Pernod Ricard with its Mumm and Perrier-Jouet brands.

Official figures for 2015 will be published next month.

Champagne, which can be produced only in the region of the same name, is facing tougher competition from Spain’s cava and Italy’s prosecco, sold for as little as a third of the price.

Industry professionals say the Champagne sector is fighting back by stepping up efforts to enhance the quality of its own product.

Reuters

KRUG RELEASES 2002 VINTAGE IN LONDON, UK

Champagne house Krug launched its 2002 vintage in London, UK this week, with cellar master Eric Lebel dubbing it “a purebred stallion” that needed to be reined in due to its “assertive” and “muscular” nature.

Lebel revealed that the wines produced in 2002 had a clear identity from the outset. “From the very first tastings, we saw nature’s generosity in every parcel. The wines announced themselves as round, rich, robust, dominated by fruit and particularly aromatic. As they have continued to develop, we have seen in this blend a remarkable finesse and finish too. It is almost as if each of the 2002 wines that we have chosen to compose Krug 2002 could be their own assemblage.”

Crafted from 40% Pinot Noir, 39% Chardonnay and and, as always in Krug cuvées, there is a high percentage of Pinot Meunier – 21 %; Olivier Krug was equally enthusiastic about the fizz, calling it “an ode to nature” due to its “abundance of pure fruit” and “audacious elegance”.

Cellar master Eric Lebel describes “when making the blend, each individual wine seemed as if it was a blend as the vins clairs were so generous and expressive – the wines had everything, from exotic fruit and citrus fruit to candied fruit, liquorice and honey – everything was in abundance.

Krug 2002 be released on February 1 and each bottle will bear a six-digit code on the back label. This number can be used to find out details on the harvest, Lebel’s tasting notes, food pairing ideas, and recommendations for optimum storage and serving. The price is yet to be revealed.

CHAMPAGNE SALES SET FOR RECORD YEAR

0000067c3-French_supermarket_ChampagneChampagne sales reached a record high in 2015. Sales were driven by a strong demand from export markets, favorable exchange rates and sales in France.

According to estimates from news service Reuters, 312 million bottles were sold last year, up 2-3% on 2014, while value sales were up 4.4% to €4.7 billion.

A flurry of prestige cuvée releases such as Dom Pérignon 2006 helped drive sales last year, along with a growing demand for rosé Champagne in Japan and the US.

A return to pre-recession decadence boosted Champagne sales in the UK, while Spain and Italy both showed a slight growth. Champagne sales are also creeping up at hypermarkets and specialist stores in its homeland after years of being on the slide.

“France is on a recovery path. Consumers need to enjoy life,” Bruno Paillard, CEO of Lanson BCC, told Reuters.
Official figures for 2015 will be published February 2016 by the CIVC.

Dom Pérignon 2006

dom-perignon-2006_2The release of the 2006 marks the first time in the grand cuvée’s nearly-90 year history that five consecutive vintages have been made.

Richard Geoffroy, Chef de Cave says –

“I am a lucky man! The first decade of the new millenium has been prodigious for Dom Pérignon. I feel it might attain the golden eras of the 1920’s or 1960’s. This is why I am blessed to introduce Dom Pérignon Vintage 2006. The ambition of Dom Pérignon has always been to witness the vintages in Champagne. The reward of our commitment and dedication to the vintage is to be able to celebrate the release of our fifth vintage in a row, for the first time in the history of Dom Pérignon.

Out of these five vintages, four have been harvested at a stage of intense ripeness. Such frequency has never been seen in 300 years of Champagne harvests… yet each of these Vintages is unique. It is almost impossible to characterize full ripeness, as it can stem from a variety of weather conditions. I observed that there are two ways for the associated richness to express itself in the wine: either solemn, such as 2003 or 2005; or generous, such as 2002 or 2006.”

Dom Pérignon 2006 is best typified by its superlative generosity: a pure, airy and bright bouquet on the nose; a distinctive opulence, contained and succulent, on the palate. In essence, a luminous and glorious Champagne.

360° Champagne Experience

capture_campagne_unesco-1

The Comité Champagne has launched a global communications campaign which focuses on a 360° film. This immersive film offers the viewer a virtual reality tour of the Champagne hillsides, houses and cellars.

It was announced on July 4th 2015 that the Champagne region was granted world heritage status by UNESCO:

“hillsides, houses, and cellars” of the Champagne wine region in northeastern France deserve recognition. “The property encompasses sites where the method of producing sparkling wines was developed on the principle of secondary fermentation in the bottle since the early 17th century to its early industrialization in the 19th century.”

Enjoy this 360° or virtual reality experience by visiting www.360.champagne.fr.

Three ways to experience this 360° unique experience is by smartphone, tablet or PC, or 3D using Google Cardboard goggles or virtual reality headset.

Liz Palmer
www.liz-palmer.com