Category: Champagne

Why has confidence in fine wine increased in 2020?

Despite the headwinds of 2020 – tariffs, Brexit uncertainty and the global pandemic – the wine market has remained robust. Today’s post examines what has changed and offers an explanation as to why we are seeing greater confidence in the market during these exceptional times.

Increased liquidity

One of the key changes this year is an increase in market liquidity, which is reflected in the rising value of bids and offers on the Liv-ex marketplace. The total exposure (total value of bids and offers) reached a new record high of £81 million last week – a £30 million increase this time last year.

In recent months, both bids and offers have been on the rise. The bid to offer ratio (i.e. the total value of bids divided by the total value of offers) currently stands at 0.6. Traditionally, a bid-offer ratio of 0.5 or higher suggests positive sentiment.

A broadening market

Another noticeable difference is that more wines than ever are attracting buying interest, taking market share from the traditional strongholds of Bordeaux and Burgundy. As the chart below shows, the wine market has undergone considerable broadening in the past decade. Bordeaux’s share has halved from its peak in 2010 when it accounted for 95.7% of secondary market trade by value. As its share declined, others shined. Burgundy was the first and main benefactor; its trade share rising from 0.6% in 2010, to a record high of 19.7% in 2019. It has dipped slightly this year to 17.4%.

This year, Italy has been the big winner. Having reached an annual average of 8.8% in 2019, Italy now accounts for 15.3% of fine wine trade. As recently highlighted, the US wine market is also developing at unprecedented rate. USA accounted for just 0.1% of trade in 2010. Year-to-date, it stands at 7%.

And then, there is the Rest of the World – an increasingly diverse category. Up from 0.8% in 2010 to 5.9% in 2020, RoW trade so far in 2020 has been led by trade for Australia (1.8%), Spain (1.4%) and Germany (1%), though wines from Argentina, Austria, Chile, and Portugal to name but a few are seeing more and more activity.

What has changed?

So, why are we seeing such increased confidence in the wine market? One well-documented explanation is that investors are seeking to put their money into safer assets in these uncertain times. Historically, fine wine has offered steady returns and low volatility.  Another explanation is that there are simply more market participants than ever before. The number of wine businesses trading on Liv-ex has increased 15% in 2020 alone. This increase in members reflects a growing trend since the Covid-19 pandemic took hold – businesses are looking for web-based solutions to grow their sales.

One such solution is trading automation. Trading automation makes it easier for merchants to list stock for sale, exposing their diverse inventory to an ever-growing marketplace. Regions that once struggled to find a secondary market have been benefitting from the shift to online sales, particularly as lockdowns have closed much of the physical retail. Through APIs, stockholders have been able to list and advertise various wines to a far greater audience, as merchants have connected their customers to this ever-broadening market. Subsequently, wine merchants and private collectors have been able to find less well-known wines from a greater range of wine regions.

Despite an early swoon as the first lockdown took place, the fine wine market would seem to be in a relatively healthy place today. As a tangible, finite asset, it offers stability in a volatile world. It also of course offers a great deal of pleasure for imbibers who are locked down and deprived of their usual wining and dining! And importantly technology, as in so many sectors, has helped merchants from across the globe, to adapt, making wine more accessible and more exciting to all with an interest in it. Combined, these three things have put the wine market on a firm footing in 2020.

Source: Liv-ex

 

 

Perrier-Jouët launches eco-friendly gift box for the holiday season

After two years in development, Champagne house Perrier-Jouët just launched a new range of fully recyclable, eco-friendly gift boxes in perfect timing for the festive period.

The boxes will now be used to house its classic, non-vintage Champagnes, including Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut, Perrier-Jouët Blason Rosé and Perrier-Jouët Blanc de Blancs.

The project follows two years of research and development in order to deliver packaging that merges “a minimalist aesthetic with a focus on sustainability”.

The white boxes are made from natural fibre, sourced from certified sustainable forests in northern Europe, and are embossed with water-based ink, which is free from mineral oils.

The eco gift box collection is available globally through various retailers, including, in the UK, through Fortnum & Mason (RRP: £47.50).

Perrier-Jouët is aiming to make its entire gifting offer fully sustainable by 2022. It has already introduced recyclable shipping cases that are made from grass paper.

Séverine Frerson, cellar master at Maison Perrier-Jouët, said: “For more than two centuries, Maison Perrier-Jouët has maintained a symbiotic relationship with nature which we are incredibly proud of.

“Our founders, Pierre-Nicolas Perrier and Rose-Adélaïde Jouët, were renowned for their keen interest in botany and for their progressive ideas on natural viticulture. Today, nature remains at the very heart of the House, and has provided the inspiration for this exquisite gift-box collection.”

Wine Review: Louis Pommery NV Brut Sparkling – California

Pommery is closely associated with Champagne; a few years ago, Pommery expanded to the USA under “Louis Pommery”, using California grapes to make a new world style sparkling wine.

After eight years of R & D, Cellar Director, and oenological DevelopmentManager Thierry Gasco refined a revolutionary method to craft wine with encapsulated yeast, which eliminates all deposits from the bottle, gives the wine an unprecedented degree of clarity and brilliance.

Using the methode champenoise principle this wine is made with 96% chardonnay and 4% pinot noir grapes.

Louis Pommery is an ode to the maison’s iconic style, evoking vivacity, freshness and finesse.

Tasting Notes:

Beautiful straw yellow colour with a lively effervescence; soft aromas of toasted baguette, fresh flowers with notes of green apples which flow through to the palate; slight citrusy note; the finish is long and toasty.

A wonderful and well-priced offering.

92 points

Vintages Release Date: September 5, 2020 –  # 15894

Bottle Size: 750 mL bottle

Alcohol/Vol:12.5%

Made In: California, USA

By: Vranken Pommery America

Sugar Content:10 g/L

Style: Medium body

Varietal: Chardonnay Blend

Redefining California cool and set to become a game-changer in the sparkling wine category!

Liz Palmer:  Review October 15 2020

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moët & Chandon launches ‘Specially Yours’ personalized Christmas gift boxes

The gift boxes will be exclusively available in Selfridges, London in-store and online, priced at £49.99 for the Impérial and £58.99 for the Rosé Impérial.

The packaging can be personalized with a name or a message using up to fourteen characters. Gift boxes can be ordered by taking a bottle to a Selfridges personalization station in-store or selecting the relevant option online.

The gift box unveiling coincides with the launch of Moët & Chandon’s ‘London Calling’ campaign at the high-end department store. This will feature a Champagne bar and “concept space” featuring photographs of famous moments of celebration in London’s history.

The concept space is inspired by the design of the classic red telephone box, with space for guests to sip Champagne at a bar alongside the photographic exhibition.

Customers can choose from a range of Moët cuvées as well as Champagne cocktails, created in partnership with London bars Mr Fogg’s, Heads & Tails, Coupette and Disrepute.

A calendar of cocktail masterclasses will be held from 6 October to 25 November at Selfridges, co-hosted by Moët & Chandon’s Champagne Ambassador. These can be booked in advance https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/selfridges-oxford-street-london-6395244523

 

THE CHAMPAGNE 2020 HARVEST REPORT “SPLENDIDE!”

2020 completes an exceptional trilogy for the harvest: as in 2018 and 2019, the weather conditions have offered a very high-quality harvest, which is one of the requirements to make a great wine. The beginning of the year was particularly wet with the dampest February on record. Heat and drought set in mid-March and the vines were 16 days ahead on a 10-year average; it will not lose this edge, even registering an exceptionally fast maturation process the week before the harvesting.

While last year’s temperature record was broken (42.9°C), this year it was the driest July in history. Due to the drought, the grapes are of a lighter weight than average but in excellent sanitary condition. The musts are well balanced, fruity, with a beautiful freshness and a great aromatic expression; the alcoholic degree lies between 10 and 10.5% vol.

The year 2020 is, of course, characterized by the health safety measures linked to the Covid-19 epidemic, which had to be put in place for the 120.000 seasonal workers recruited in vineyards or pressing centres.

Given the maximum yield limited to 8,000 kg/ha, the harvest was carried out, individually, a little faster than usual but spread over a normal period of about three weeks, given the heterogeneity of maturation between vintages and grape varieties. The tasting of berries and seeds and the analysis of the sugar content present in the grapes allow each winemaker to adapt the beginning of his harvest and optimize his grape picking circuit, plot by plot, at optimum maturity.

With the superb trilogy 2018, 2019, 2020, Champagne should have in a few years blends and, probably, exceptional vintages, all living up to the celebrations of the event that the whole world is waiting for: the end of the Covid-19 pandemic.

French Version

′′2020 complète en effet une trilogie exceptionnelle : comme en 2018 et en 2019, les conditions météorologiques ont offert une récolte de très grande qualité, première des conditions pour élaborer un grand vin. Le début de l’année a été particulièrement arrosé avec le mois de février le plus humide jamais enregistré. Chaleur et sécheresse s’installent dès la mi-mars et la vigne débourre avec 16 jours d’avance sur la moyenne décennale ; elle ne perdra plus cette avance, enregistrant même une dynamique de maturation exceptionnellement rapide la semaine précédant le ban des vendanges.

Alors que l’an passé, le record de température avait été battu (42,9°C), cette année, c’est le mois de juillet le plus sec de l’histoire qui a été enregistré. En raison de la sécheresse, les grappes sont d’un poids inférieur à la moyenne mais dans un excellent état sanitaire. Les moûts sont équilibrés, fruités, présentent une belle fraîcheur et une grande expression aromatique ; le degré alcoolique se situe entre 10 et 10,5% vol.

L’année 2020 se singularise bien sûr par les mesures de sécurité sanitaires liées à l’épidémie de Covid-19 qui ont dû être mises en place pour les quelque 120 000 saisonniers recrutés dans les vignes ou les centres de pressurage.

Compte tenu du rendement maximum limité à 8 000 kg/ha, la récolte a été effectuée, à titre individuel, un peu plus rapidement que d’habitude mais s’est étalée sur une durée normale d’environ trois semaines, compte tenu de l’hétérogénéité de maturation entre crus et entre cépages. La dégustation de baies et de pépins et l’analyse du taux de sucre présent dans les raisins permettent à chaque vigneron d’adapter le début de sa vendange et d’optimiser son circuit de cueillette du raisin, parcelle par parcelle, à maturité optimale.

Avec la superbe trilogie 2018, 2019, 2020, la Champagne devrait disposer dans quelques années d’assemblages et, probablement, de millésimes exceptionnels, à la hauteur des célébrations de l’événement que le monde entier attend : la fin de la pandémie Covid-19 ′′.

Source : Comité Champagne