The Champagne Masters 2022: Results Announced

The Champagne Masters 2022: Results Announced

Now in its 11th year, The Champagne Masters has a long track-record of identifying not only the best in the category, but also the strengths and weakness of Champagne. In terms of unearthing the stars of Champagne in 2022, the judges picked out over 40 exceptional bottles. Drinks Business believes that it might have been the biggest competition that they have ever hosted.

This year The Champagne Masters took place on March 10 at London’s Coravin Wine & Bubbles Bar, with judges: Susan Hulme MW, Siobhan Turner MW, Patricia Stefanowicz MW, David Round MW, Jonathan Pedley MW, and Patrick Schmitt MW.

Brut NV
Brut NV was the largest sub-category by volume and the standard of Brut NV being made today is excellent (according to the judges); a product of better viticulture, pressing, cleaner juices, more reserve wines, longer times spent ageing on/off the lees, improved bottling procedures, along with lower dosages. Today’s Brut NV tends to mix depth and complexity with precision. At their best, these are layered wines, with honeyed notes, along with fresh fruit, and nutty, bready interest, along with dry and bright edge, ensuring that they serve that aperitif moment – for which they are crafted – brilliantly!

A benchmark in the competitive Brut NV sector is Piper-Heidsieck, especially its drier ‘Essential’, with a 5g/l dosage, although Lanson (both for its ‘Le Black and Le Green’ labels) is proving hard to beat, with its nutty and citric style. Also, Moët & Chandon garnered a Gold for its Brut Impérial, and, as the best-selling Champagne in the world, this fizz proves that it’s possible to be big and fine with sparkling wine. Indeed, scale may be preferable, giving one access to a wide range of wines for blending – a key for not just complexity and balance, but stylistic consistency as well.

Commenting on this sector of the market, Champagne Masters judge, Jonathan Pedley MW described it as a “mixed bag with a handful of delicious wines mixed in with plenty of basic stuff.” Continuing he said, “The latter were often young, raw and lacking complexity. The better wines had maturity and complexity – doubtless derived from the judicious use of reserve wines and extended lees ageing.”

Agreeing, fellow judges Patricia Stefanowicz MW observed that “Champagne will never be inexpensive and finding a number of exciting wines at the lower end of the £30-50 bracket with appealing fruit and fresh croissant or brioche accents, was a delight. Above £50 the Brut NV wines are excellent, and so they should be.”

Vintage
The first Masters was awarded in this category – an accolade reserved for those wines that are exceptional – with producers Joseph Perrier, Piper-Heidsieck and Henriot the sources of “wow-factor” fizz, to use Stefanowicz’s description for the best samples. Taking in harvests from 2014 back to 2006, it was notable how good the 2012s are, while the 2014s were showing their quality potential too. Recording the presence of “gems”; “A cluster of wines showed evidence of having been vinified from top quality fruit and then aged to add complexity and harmony,” Pedley said that this part of the Champagne offer is where the quality-to-price ratio seems to be highest. By way of explanation for this, he said, “With many houses focusing on Prestige Cuvées and other trendy things like Blanc de Blancs, standard Vintage seems to have become a quiet bye water where the consumer can pick up some excellent wines for sensible prices.”

Prestige Cuvée
Up next with the top-end expressions, Prestige Cuvée Champagne, there was more outstanding wines from the 2012 harvest, but also the first rate 2008, and, for a younger fizz, the relatively underrated 2013 vintage. Master-level quality was tasted from Deutz, Perrier-Jouët and Rare, as well as the multi-vintage flagship from Laurent-Perrier, called Grand Siecle, now carrying an edition number so one can find out the base wines and gauge the age of the fizz. Other delicious wines – if not quite Masters – hailed from some grower-cooperative producers, with Nicolas Feuillatte, Palmer and Castelnau picking up Golds, the latter for an exciting late-release from 2000 in magnum. Underrated names for greatness in this upmarket sphere included GH Mumm – it’s Lalou 2006 is delicious – and Pommery, whose Cuvée Louise is certainly a connoisseur’s prestige cuvée. Speaking generally about this category, Pedley recorded “glorious honeyed aromas and great length on the palate,” and “angina inducing prices to match.”

Blanc de Blancs
Testament to the increasing demand for Blanc de Blancs, this was one of the biggest sectors of this year’s Champagne Masters, and home to some fantastic wines, notably those from Henriot and Telmont, but also Mumm and Perrier-Jouët, Deutz and Delamotte, along with Piper-Heidsieck and Ayala, and Besserat de Bellefon with its grand cru bottling. Clearly impressed, Stefanowicz described the Champagnes as “pristine”, with “racy acidity”. Pedley recorded a more variable standard, and while excited by “butter cream” notes in one sample, said that some others seemed “simple”, with “an absence of leesy complexity and maturity.”

Such wines were, however, better than the blanc de noirs, which was “a small but slightly disappointing flight, marked by a couple of wines that were rather vegetal,” said Pedley, with the judges agreeing that Champagne does undoubtedly benefit from the addition of Chardonnay to the blend.

Rose
Finishing with rosé, it was agreed upon by the tasters that, with a few exceptions – such as the excellent samples from Laurent-Perrier, Perrier-Jouët, Pommery, Joseph Perrier and Besserat de Bellefon – to quote Pedley, “this was the biggest disappointment of the day”. Commenting that “Clearly making good Rosé Champagne is not as easy as a lot of people think,” he then recorded two types of poorer-scoring pink fizz: “At one end of the scale there were wines that were raw and simple, at the other end wines that were tired and lacking freshness.”

Stefanowicz felt similarly, commenting, “Whilst the range of colours was visual enchantment, many of the wines simply do not deliver on the nose and palate. And, of course, they are mostly expensive. That said, there were a few hidden gems. But, particularly at more than £30, I’d have expected much more definition and refinement than some of the wines delivered.”

Concluding on this category in the context of the overall competition, Pedley stated, “It is a bold thing to say, but if we steered consumers away from Rosé Champagne and towards standard Vintage we would be doing them a huge favour.”

List of the winners can be found here:
https://www.theglobalmasters.co.uk/awards/the-champagne-masters-2022/

#champagne #champagnelover #winetasting #rose #winecompetition #blancdeblancs
#rosechampagne #vintagechampagne #PrestigeCuvee #Cuvee #champagnemasters #brutchampagne #winelover #wineindustry #winecompetition #winebrands #winery #winebuyer #winebusiness #winetrade #piperheidsieck #champagnedeutz #moethennessy
#perrierjouet

Source: Drinks Business [UK]

Burgundy’s Rising Prices Drive Liv-ex 1000 Index In January

 

  • The Liv-ex 1000 continued its bull run into the new year, rising 3.5%.
  • The Burgundy 150 was its best-performing sub-index, up 6.4%.
  • Champagne 50 and Rest of the World 60 followed, both rising 5.6%.

The broadest measure of the market, the Liv-ex Fine Wine 1000 index, rose 3.5% in January to close the month at 439.3.

The index is up 22.3% over one year versus 25.2% for the industry benchmark, the Liv-ex 100. All of the Liv-ex 1000 sub-indices increased last month.

Burgundy outperforms the broader market

The Burgundy 150 index was the best performer, up 6.4%. Prices for the region’s wines continue to soar, driven by looming shortages. Meanwhile, the 2020 En Primeur campaign stimulated demand for back vintages and the region took 24.6% of the market by value last month.

Both the Champagne 50 and the Rest of the World 60 sub-indices rose 5.6%.

Louis Roederer Cristal 2008 – the most traded wine by value in January – was also the top price performer in the Champagne 50, up 19.2%.

The biggest mover within the Rest of the World 60 was Dominus 2015, up 17.7%.

The Bordeaux 500 index has continued to lag behind the other sub-indices, rising just 1.0% in January. The performance of its sub-regions has been mixed, with some of the best-performers coming from Pomerol and rising between 14% to 18%.

Source Liv-Ex

#finewine #wineinvestment #wineinvestors #champagne #winenews #bordeaux #burgundy #frenchwine #livex #alternativeinvestment #investment #alternativeinvestments

@livexwine

Mumm Millésimé 2015 – Virtual Tasting

Yesterday I participated in a virtual tasting with Cellar Master Laurent Fresnet of Maison Mumm to celebrate the release of Mumm Millésimé 2015. It was wonderful opportunity to see Laurent again and engage in the online conversation.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t participate in the tasting portion (at this time) my bottle was stuck at customs.

What I did learn – Mumm Millésimé 2015 is crafted exclusively from Pinot Noir grapes and were harvested from the best plots of the Montagne de Reims Grand Cru villages of Verzy, Ambonnay and Verzenay, and the Chardonnay grapes were harvested from plots in the Côte des Blancs Grand Cru villages of Cramant and Avize.

Mumm Millésimé 2015 blend

75% Pinot Noir

25% Chardonnay

[100% Grands Crus]

Mumm Millésimé 2015 underwent full malolactic fermentation which reveals supple, round character, delicate toasted aromas and notes of biscuit.

The dosage is 6 g/liter (brut).

This vintage was aged for five years in Maison Mumm’s cellars beneath the city of Reims.

Maison Mumm’s style reveals the essence of Pinot Noir – with its power and rich, elegant fruit, the black grape takes pride of place in the House’s classic blends, to which Chardonnay and Meunier grapes add their inimitable floral and fruity notes.

Tasting Notes:  watch this space for my tasting notes in the next few weeks.

#virtualtasting #winelover #wine #champagne #champagnelover #winetasting #Mumm #Mummexplores #MummChampagne #champagnetasting #champagnemoments #MummMillésimé2015

@GMMumm

Bordeaux Index records a 47% sales growth in 2021

The Bordeaux Index has reported sales growth of almost 50% year in 2021, to a company record total of US$174m.

Increased activity in Asia and the US (where trade tariffs on many French wines were suspended in Q1) has been most significant. The Bordeaux Index has also seen pronounced gains in the UK. Their client base also increased by c.30% in 2021.

The strong growth in volumes on the LiveTrade online platform, a trading venue in the market for Bordeaux, Champagne and Italian wines, came as the company prepares for the launch of a new, expanded version of the platform this year, when users from across the wine market will be able to trade the full spectrum of fine wines rather than the core set which LiveTrade has focused on to date.

Gary Boom, Founder and CEO of Bordeaux Index, commented:

“We are delighted to report record-breaking results and indeed such strong progress compared to 2020. While activity in the wine market – just as in other luxury assets and collectibles such as art – has no doubt been high, we believe our outsized growth is a clear vindication of our strategy to improve market access and transparency alongside providing best-in-class product expertise.”

“Looking ahead to 2022, there is certainly room for an optimistic outlook, with the global pool of wine collectors on a different scale to a decade ago, and also investors increasingly looking towards hard assets such as wine which deliver consistently strong performance, capital preservation and protection against inflation.”

“Building on the tremendous growth last year, we have invested in new technology to improve our LiveTrade platform, which we firmly believe will continue to transform the way fine wine is bought and sold globally.”

#bordeaux #bordeauxwine #bordeauxindex #burgundywine #greatwine #grandcru #finewine #winelover #champagne #champagnelover #vintagechampagne #livetrade
#wineinvestment #wineinvestors #wine #vin #frenchwine #madeinfrance

@bordeaux_index

Champagne News: Total shipments of Champagne in 2021 rose to 322 million bottles, an increase of 32% over 2020

The Champagne region and houses are celebrating after sales and exports set new records last year even as pandemic lockdowns forced many bars and restaurants to close.

Comité Champagne, a trade association representing over 16,000 winegrowers and 320 Champagne houses, said this week that France exported a record 180 million bottles of Champagne in 2021, an increase of 38% over 2020.

Global sales of Champagne also hit a record €5.5 billion (US$6.2 billion).

Comité Champagne said that total shipments rose 32% over the previous year to 322 million bottles as people found reasons to celebrate at home.

“With tourism and the staging of events still reduced due to the health crisis, there is room to believe that home consumption has taken up the slack,” the trade group said in a statement.

“Consumers have chosen to entertain themselves at home, compensating for the generally gloomy mood with new moments of conviviality and sharing,” they also added.

Detailed export data has not yet been released, but in 2020, the United Kingdom and the United States were the top foreign markets for champagne.

Champagne drinking popped back up to its pre-pandemic levels last year in France, with shipments increasing 25% to reach nearly 142 million bottles.

‘This recovery is a welcome surprise for the people of Champagne after a troubled 2020 (with figures down by 18%) impacted by the closure of main points of consumption and the shortage of celebratory events across the world,’ comments Maxime Toubart, president of the Syndicat général des vignerons and co-president of the Comité Champagne. He is otherwise pleased to note ‘the healthy state of the national market’.

Jean-Marie Barillère, president of the Union des Maisons de Champagne and co-president of the Comité Champagne, is delighted that ‘thanks to exports and the consumer’s devotion to fine cuvees, Champagne will reach a record turnover of more than 5.5 billion Euros*’. But he stresses ‘the average shipments in 2020-2021, at 280 million bottles and 4.9 billion Euros, remain under the pre-pandemic levels (300 million bottles, 5 billion Euros in 2019)’.
Afflicted by the health crisis in 2020 and challenging climatic conditions in 2021, Champagne now hopes that 2022 will open the way to a new cycle of growth.

#champagne #champagnelovers #champagneeconomics #champagneregion #comitechampagne
#cheers #wine #winelovers #celebrate #winenews #wineexports #reims #epernay #aube