LOUIS XIII Cognac Integrates NFC Technology into its “Smart Decanter”

Launching February 2019, LOUIS XIII will step into the future by integrating NFC technology into its Smart Decanter to provide clients a seamless access to an exclusive world of privileges. Each decanter will directly connect clients to the LOUIS XIII Society, a private club where members can enjoy exclusive content, unique experiences and personalized services through their smartphones.

After removing the seal, clients can tap and scan their NFC-enabled smartphones on the cork stopper to access the LOUIS XIII Society landing page to create or log into their account. The decanter number will then be automatically registered.

With this NFC chip, LOUIS XIII clients will get facilitated access to all the advantages of the LOUIS XIII Society. This private club offers bespoke services such as customized decanter engraving, pre-releases of limited editions, contact with a LOUIS XIII Personal Advisor for private tastings and ultimate experiences, and an invitation to network with LOUIS XIII Cognac connoisseurs registered all over the world. In addition, the LOUIS XIII Smart Decanter will bring added services to clients allowing them to customize gifting messages that will appear when recipients scan their decanter.

“Every LOUIS XIII decanter will feature this smart solution worldwide. At LOUIS XIII, we place clients at the very heart of everything we do, striving to offer them always the best experiences,” said Ludovic du Plessis, LOUIS XIII Global Executive Director. “This innovation will be launched globally starting February 2019 and will be deployed all over the world the following months.”

NFC TECHNOLOGY
NFC enables simple, rapid, intuitive and secure communication between two electronic objects. A mature and robust technology which has been growing in the past 20 years being used mainly by bank cards, biometric passports and travel tickets – until now. Today, with the introduction of contactless payment, connected wearables and the Internet of Things, NFC technology is reinventing the way we experience life.

LOUIS XIII Society is a private members club for owners of LOUIS XIII Cognac decanters. http://www.louisxiii-society.com

Emmanuel Macron Opens Presidential Wine Cellar to Public

France’s Elysée Palace has officially opened its doors to its wine cellar first time

France’s Elysée Palace has officially opened its doors to its wine cellar first time this past weekend as part of a bid by President Emmanuel Macron to promote national heritage.

There were 350 members of the public who toured the cavernous cellar which houses 14,000 bottles, from all the wine growing regions of France.

“This is the first time we’ve opened the cellar to the public,” Virginie Routis, the Elysée’s sommelier for the past 11 years, told Europe 1 radio.

The three-meter high vaulted cellar is two floors below ground level and keeps a plethora of fine wines and spirits, from cognac to top champagnes, at an ideal temperature of 13 degrees Celsius.

The also cellar contains prestigious vintages such as Cheval Blanc, Latour, and Puligny-Montrachet. Its oldest bottle is said to be a 1906 Sauternes.

“The wine is chosen according to the menu. I make a selection…Madame and Monsieur Macron also get to approve the choice. We really have to represent French gastronomy, so you have to choose wines that speak to a given foreign delegation,” she said.

The cellar was designed in 1947. During Jacques Chirac’s presidency in 2013, some 1,200 bottles were auctioned off as the quantities were too small to serve at official dinners.

Unlike his teetotal predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy, Mr. Macron is quite knowledgeable on French wines and has confessed to drinking a glass of wine at lunch and dinner.

He has chosen to open the cellars as part of France’s annual Heritage Days, where numerous state and listed buildings are exceptionally opened to the public.

Another Record year in Cognac: 200 million bottles shipped

For the fourth straight year, exports of Cognac have continued their steady rise

For the fourth straight year, exports of Cognac have continued their steady rise, with an increase of 8.2% in volume and 5.4% in value. The previous record of bottles shipped (200 million) has been surpassed, with 205.9 million bottles shipped between August 2017 and July 2018. With 3.2 billion euros (roughly 300 billion dollars) in revenue, Cognac contributes significantly to France’s trade surplus in the wines and spirits sector, accounting for nearly a quarter of the total value of French wine and spirits exports and placing Cognac at the top of the major appellations.

Cognac consolidated its position in the NAFTA zone with 89.8 million bottles shipped. This translates to an increase of 9.4% in volume and 0.2% in value, in the 9th consecutive year of growth2. The United States remains the leading market, with 86.5 million bottles shipped during the period. “The brown spirits category is growing in the US market. The historical presence of cognac and the constant investment by the Cognac houses in this market have reinforced the performance of cognac in the U.S.,” explains Patrick Raguenaud, President of the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC).

The East Asian market continues to grow, with 60.9 million bottles shipped (an increase of 13.5% in volume and 12.4% in value). China is driving growth in this zone, with nearly 26.2 million bottles shipped. For Patrick Raguenaud, “these good results confirm China’s continued appetite for Cognac, even with transitions currently taking place in that market.”

Shipments to continental Europe remain stable with a slight loss of 2.0% in volume but a rise of 3% in value, for a total shipment of more than 41.3 million bottles. These results are due to a small decrease in exports to western and northern Europe and growth in Russia and Latvia. “Particularly in the United Kingdom, our largest European market, shipments remain stable, despite the uncertainties of Brexit,” says Patrick Raguenaud.

Significant potential for development in the rest of the world

Increased exports also continue in other areas, with strong potential for Cognac in countries such as South Africa, Vietnam, Oceania and the Caribbean4. Exports to these markets rose by 12.2% in volume and 5.3% in value. All together, these promising markets represent more than 6.7% of total exports, or nearly 13.9 million bottles.

Exports increase for all categories: V.S., V.S.O.P. and Hors d’Âge

Representing 50% of total volume, the V.S., V.S.O.P. and older categories—including Napoléon, X.O. and Hors d’Âge—continue to play a prominent role in Cognac’s strong performance5. The success of V.S. (minimum 2 years aging) cognac continues to be driven by the North American market–which accounts for half of all cognac shipments—growing in volume by 6% and in value by 4.1%.

Representing a little less than 40% of the production, V.S.O.P. (minimum 4 years aging) shipments increased by 10% in volume and 2.1% in value. Napoléon (minimum 6 years aging), X.O. and Hors d’Âge (minimum 10 years aging, respectively) are also experiencing significant growth with a rise of 12.4% in volume and 10.3% in value, thanks to strong results in East Asia.

According to Patrick Raguenaud, «the good momentum we are experiencing today in these three quality-designated categories can be explained by cognac’s strength in all markets, with varied consumption patterns.

Cognac: spearheading French wine and spirits exports

According to the Fédération des Exportateurs de Vins et Spiritueux de France (Federation of Exporters of Wines and Spirits of France) and the Fédération Française des Spiritueux (French Federation of Spirits), 2017 saw French spirits exports reach new records and break the € 4 billion mark, for a total of 437 million liters (an increase of 2.4%). Cognac, accounting for 70% of the value of spirits exports, gave a strong boost to the overall value. In addition, Cognac now represents nearly a quarter of the total value of all French wine and spirits exports.

Christophe Forget, Vice President of the BNIC, comments on cognac’s growth, which confirms its dynamism and international influence: “Cognac growers and négociants are confident in their future prospects and continue to fully invest in the development of the appellation, the markets and the quality of their products.”

 

Source: Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC).

Capturing the Spirit of Cognac

Six members of the Circle of Wine Writers (CWW) traveled to Cognac, France

Six members of the Circle of Wine Writers (CWW) traveled to Cognac, France from April 9th to 12th, 2018 to visit cognac producers from the designated growing areas of Charente-Maritime, Deux-Sèvres and Dordogne.

A special thank you to our member Liz Palmer and the BNIC for organizing this amazing trip. Reports were written (and will be published shortly) by David Copp (UK), David Kermode (UK), Angela Reddin (UK), Jurgen Schmucking (Austria), Charlotte H.M. van Zummeren (Netherlands), and Liz Palmer (Canada), along with photography by Jurgen Schmucking and radio show program by David Kermode.

Along with meeting some wonderful people, we all had some amazing cultural and gastronomic experiences.

BNIC

On our first day, David Boileau, Ambassadeur du Cognac au BNIC gave us a presentation which included an overview of cognac production process, grapes, grades, producing regions, and 2017 export and economic figures.  This all took place at BNIC’s offices which was followed by a detailed tasting.

Six interesting takeaways are:

  1. 8% of cognac produced is exported;
  2. 4 million bottles of Cognac were exported in 2017, resulting in a turnover of €3.15 billion.
  3. Cognac is marketed to over 156 countries;
  4. Cognac’s 10 main markets include: USA, China, Singapore, UK, Germany, France, Latvia, Hong Kong, Holland and South Africa;
  5. Cognac exports have continued to grow in 2017 (three consecutive years);
  6. In terms of style, VS Cognac accounted for half of the Cognac shipments, with volume growth of 8.6%.

BNIC:  http://www.bnic.fr/cognac/_en/intro.aspx    

Harrods sets new standards for drinks retailing

Harrods new wine and spirits shop is part of a multi-million pound investment in food and drinks retailing at the London department store

The shop can be found within the basement of Harrods that forms part of a wider overhaul of the department store’s food and drink offering dubbed ‘The Taste Revolution’.

Designer Martin Brudnizki has created the space to be inspired by the Art Deco opulence captured in The Great Gatsby to be elegant and glamorous.

Brudnizki – who was responsible for the look of famous restaurants such as The Ivy and Sexy Fish.

With marble flooring and limed oak shelving, the look and feel of the new area was carefully done to create something “quite homely and accessible”, as well as a space that “talked of the history of Harrods; talked of an iconic British brand”, said Gerard, noting that wine and spirits was the second department ever created in the life of the store, following its origins as a tea house.

While the materials give an impression of opulence, the scale of the new shop, which covers around 8,000 sq ft, is accentuated by its layout over a long, low-ceilinged space, featuring a series of interconnected rooms, allowing one to look through the store from one end to the other, with features that lead the eye into the distance.

Putting aside the overall impact, it’s the detailing of the drinks shop that really impresses. Chilled, glass-fronted cabinets called ‘Hero Shelves’ contain the finest wines in the range, while all the lighting is screened in such as way to prevent the emission of damaging heat or ultraviolet rays.

Within these cabinets are constantly circulating flows of air to keep the wines at the perfect temperature and humidity, and there’s even a whole room of these transparent containers for magnums and even bigger bottle sizes.

“We have always had a really good range of large formats, but before, they weren’t displayed with authority,” said Gerard.

Bespoke cradles are also used to hold display bottles at an angle of 27 degrees, which, Gerard told db, is the optimum slant for visual effect that still allows the wine to remain in contact with the cork – which is of course necessary to keep the stopper wet.

Then there’s the overall temperature of the space, which is kept at a constant 18.5 degrees Celsius, in contrast to the old drinks shop, which was at 20 degrees C like the rest of the department store (although this former area did contain at ‘fine wine vault’ chilled to 17 degrees C).

Considering the new shop, like its predecessor, is housed in the lower ground floor of Harrods, why was the decision taken to move it to a different part of the same level?

Gerard explains. “With our old location we were effectively landlocked, whereas now there are 12 different ways of approaching the shop, so we are much more accessible, and there are five separate openings leading into the area.”

But the other main reason to move and create a completely new drinks shop within the department store is “to revolutionise the concept of fine wine retailing,” according to Gerard.

Aroma tables guide shoppers through the flavours of each grape

Continuing, he said, “Often the experience of buying fine wine is too high-brow and intimidating, so you don’t attract the aspiring amateurs…. We wanted to create an environment that would deliver the exclusive service of Harrods to everyone.”

Helping Harrods in this endeavour is the educational element within the new store.

Throughout the space are ‘aroma tables’ featuring trumpet-like devices that, with the squeeze of a rubber bulb, like an old-fashioned perfume sprayer, delivers the trademark smells of key noble grape varieties, from Chardonnay to Syrah and Pinot Noir.

The shop also includes two private tasting areas, one devoted to delivering wine education in partnership with the WSET, and the other acting as a consulting area for clients looking for specialist advice.

There is also a spirits room where, unusually, the labels are arranged by style, and this leads into a special area devoted entirely to the retailing of Louis XIII Cognac by Rémy Martin.

Beyond this is one of the most notable new developments for London as a whole, and that is the creation of a walk-in humidor and ‘cigar sampling’ room.

While the former allows customers to store cigars in special lockers that can be rented for £3000 per year, the latter is the first space in the UK to use a special smoke-filtering system to ensure you don’t step out of this basement space smelling of tobacco.

Developed in Switzerland, the Airkel air-filtration system ensures the sampling area is subject to a constant flow of air that strips the room from any smoke, but also your clothes – effectively washing everything free from the aroma-giving particles.

Also, one can consume any drink bought in the wine and spirits to complement your cigar, and there’s no extra ‘corkage’ charge.

Furthermore, all wines bought in the shop can be drunk in any of Harrods restaurants for £30.

So, what about the wine range in the new space? Gerard told db that it runs to 1,400 different lines, augmented by a further 600 spirits. While the wine range isn’t significantly larger than it was in the old shop, he has made a lot of changes, and says there are as many as 400 new lines, and, in terms of price, the current range goes from £9 to £28,000 a bottle.

“We are now direct to source, because we want to always offer perfect provenance… the prevalence of forgery and fakes out there is scary, and Harrods has to have the stamp of authenticity,” he remarked, adding, “But it’s not just about forgery, but getting the wines to the customers in the right condition.”

“There is a lot happening at Harrods, and we are going through our biggest development in the 180-year history of Harrods, which we are calling ‘the taste revolution’. And we are doing this because the food and wine business is at the heart of this business.”

The most expensive single bottle of wine in the new shop is a Riesling! Hailing directly from the cellars of Egon Muller – a Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA) from the producer’s famous Scharzofberger vineyard in Germany’s Mosel-Saar-Ruwer region.

Source: Drinks Business UK