Morgan Freeman becomes the muse for Laurent-Perrier’s “Grand Siècle”

American actor Morgan Freeman is the official muse of the iconic Grand Siècle cuvée of the House of Champagne Laurent-Perrier.

“We, Laurent-Perrier, are different from our peers, or perceived as such. Our pursuit of excellence, because of our difference, has taken us more time, more effort, great perseverance and a strong belief in our vision to become recognized for what we do. It does take time to become an icon: for us, nobody but Morgan Freeman could better embody that line and become the face of Grand Siècle.”

Stéphane Dalyac, Champagne Laurent-Perrier President and CEO

Champagne Review: Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé Constellation

Laurent-Perrier has crafted one of the most visually imaginative metal jackets for the holiday season. Recently launched, this limited edition is a reflection of the attention to detail that goes into producing this cuvée rosé.

The Constellation offers an alluring raspberry color, powerful and quite intense with red fruit notes; very fresh and structured; robust with a lovely savory dimension; fine bubbles. Impressive!

Undeniably, this cuvée rosé will appeal to Champagne enthusiasts, with a sublime touch to serving this holiday season.

93/100 Points

Champagne Review Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Brut Rosé Champagne


 

 

 

 

Varietal:     100% Pinot Noir
Region:      Champagne
Producer:   Laurent-Perrier Group
Style:         Rich and Complex
Alcohol:     12%

The maceration on the skins for three days provides this glorious pink color with tinges of orange; displays aromas of raspberry, red currant, cherry and citrus; on the palate – intense fruit flavors, fresh; it opens up providing an impression of plunging into a basket of freshly picked strawberries, Morello cherries and raspberries; beautifully rounded and long finish – it’s truly a gastronomic Champagne!

Notes:

  • Vintage Number: 158550
  • Ten-grands curs villages
  • Saigneé Method
  • The #1-selling rosé Champagne in the world

 

Food Pairing: 

I recommend a rack of lamb, pork, salmon, tuna, shellfish, mild and soft cheese, and dark chocolate

Rating: 93 Points

#TBT FIVE TOP CHAMPAGNE BRANDS BY GLOBAL SALES FOR 2014

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2014 Champagne sales hit second highest total on record with
over 308m bottles of Champagne being sold. This represent a 1% rise in global Champagne sales from 2013.

The Comite Champagne, formerly the CIVC, also estimated that worldwide Champagne sales reached 4.5bn euros in value terms, up from 4.3bn euros in 2013 and the second highest annual total on record, behind 2007.

This suggests consumers have traded up to higher priced Champagne, despite fierce discounting. Exports drove the increases in volume and value in 2014.

Most champagne houses, growers and co-operatives lowered their dosages since the start of the century, with an average reduction of 2.8 g/l over the last 15 years, a measurable reflection of an increase in BNV quality resulting from harvesting riper, cleaner grapes, and producing richer, more complex blends.

Compiled here is a list of the top Five Champagne brands, by global sales, for 2014. Where are your favourite Champagnes ranked?

1. Moët & Chandon 

Size (approx. annual sales, 2014): 2.45m cases

Cellar master: Benoît Gouez

It’s widely acknowledged that the quality of the world’s biggest Champagne brand – and flagship wine in the LVMH stable – has improved since Benoit Gouez became cellar master in 2005.

Within the last decade the category leader has benefitted from updated winemaking facilities, an increased proportion of reserve wine, better viticultural management and, as a result, riper fruit and richer, cleaner wines, which, in turn, have allowed for a lower dosage – Moët dropped to 9g/l in 2012, having previously hovered around 12 g/l.

During this period, they shifted its celebrity allegiance from actress Scarlett Johansson to tennis star Roger Federer – who remains the global Moët brand ambassador today.

In recent years the brand has not been tempted to release a drier variant of Moët and the house has no extra brut (6 g/l or below) or brut nature (0 g/l) Champagne, but, in the same year it discontinued its White Star, Moët introduced the Ice Impérial, which, with a 45 g/l dosage, is a much sweeter version designed for serving over ice.

Brand owner: Moët Hennessy

Head office: 20 Avenue de Champagne, 51200, Epernay, France

Website: www.moet.com

Product range: Moët & Chandon, Impérial NV, Rosé NV, Ice Impérial, Grand Vintage Blanc, Grand Vintage Rosé

2. Veuve Clicquot

Size (approx. annual sales, 2014): 1.55m cases

Cellar master: Dominique Demarville

Similar to Moët, Veuve Clicquot has seen its dosage fall by a few grams per litre over the last decade, but has retained its relatively opulent style, a function of the high Pinot Noir content in the blend, as well as high proportion of reserve wine, and more than 30 months spent ageing on its lees in the cellars.

It is the first brand to use biodegradable gift boxes made from its own grapes.

Brand owner: Moët Hennessy

Head office: 13 Rue Albert Thomas, 51100, Reims, France

Website: www.veuve-clicquot.com

Product range: Brut Yellow Label, Rosé, Demi-Sec, Vintage, Rosé Vintage, Cave Privée, La Grande Dame

3. Nicolas Feuillatte

Size (approx. annual sales, 2014): 875,000 cases

Cellar master: David Hénault

Director of winemaking: Guillaume Roffiaen

Made at, and owned by, the cooperative The Centre Vinicole Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte (CV-CNF), the brand has access to 2,250 hectares of grapes from 5,000 growers at a winery which can ferment as much as 300,000 hectolitres each year.

Founded in 1976 – the label has a strong following for its contemporary packaging, good value blends, and partnerships with the arts.

Nicolas Feuillatte’s best selling blend is its Brut NV, accounting for 80% of sales.

Brand owner: Centre Vinicole–Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte Head office: Chouilly, BP 210, 51206, Epernay Cedex, France

Website: www.nicolas-feuillatte.com


Product range: Brut NV, Brut Réserve, Brut Grande Réserve, Demi Sec, Rosé NV, D’Luscious Rosé NV, Brut Vintage, Brut Extrem’, Cuvée Spéciale Vintage, Brut Chardonnay Vintage, One Four Brut, One Four Rosé, Cuvée 225 Brut Vintage, Cuvée 225 Rosé Vintage, Grand Cru Chadonnay Vintage, Grand Cru Pinot Noir Vintage, Palmes d’Or Brut Vintage, Palmes d’Or Rosé Vintage

4. G.H Mumm Cordon

Size (approx. annual sales, 2014): 638,000 cases

Cellar master: Didier Mariotti

Famous for its red stripe and regular appearances on Formula 1 podiums, GH Mumm sits alongside Perrier-Jouët in the Pernod Ricard Champagne portfolio.

Niche, but excellent Champagnes in the range include the Mumm de Cramant blanc de blancs and Mumm de Verzenay blanc de noirs – the latter launched in 2012, initially just for the French market

Brand owner: Pernod Ricard

Head office: 29 rue de Champ des Mars, 51053 Reims, France

Website: www.ghmumm.com

Product range: Brut Cordon Rouge, Brut Rosé, Demi-Sec, Brut Millésimé, Mumm de Cramant Blanc de Blancs, Mumm de Verzenay Blanc de Noirs, Brut Séléction, Cuvée R. Lalou


5. Laurent-Perrier

Size (approx. annual sales, 2014): 545,000 cases

Cellar master: Michel Fauconnet

It is the largest family-owned house in France and currently headed by Alexandra and Stephanie, daughters of the legendary Bernard de Nonancourt

Brand owner: Group Laurent-Perrier

Head office: Domaine Laurent-Perrier, 51150, Tours-sur-Marne, France

Website: www.laurent-perrier.com

Product range: Brut NV, Rosé NV, Ultra-Brut, Demi-Sec, Brut Millésimé, Grand Siècle, Les Réserves Grand Siècle, Alexandra Rosé

Source: Drinks Business and Decanter

LAURENT-PERRIER announces sharp increase in results for first half of 2011-2012

A Grand Century Ewer

Laurent-Perrier is one of the few champagne houses listed on the French stock exchange dedicated exclusively to champagne and focused on the premium segment. Laurent-Perrier offers a broad range of products renowned for their quality, and sold under the brands Laurent-Perrier, Salon, Delamotte, and Champagne de Castellane.

• Results in line with strategic choices
o Above market growth for Laurent-Perrier brand
o Increase in premium champagnes and export sales ratios
o Markedly positive price/mix effect
o Significant improvement in operating margin
o Further improvement in cash-flow and debt reduction

The accounts for the first half of the 2011-2012 financial year have been reviewed by the Supervisory Board chaired by Maurice de Kervénoaël.

Main audited financial data

September 30 H1
2010-2011 H1
2011-2012 Change on Y-1
Turnover 81.2 92.0 + 13.3%
Operating profit 9.9 19.9 x 2
Operating margin (%) 12.2% 21.6% + 9.4 pts
Group net income 2.96 9.49 x 3
Earnings per share (euros) 0.50 1.61 + 1.11
Net cash flow* – 17.2 – 14.2 + 3.0M

* Cash flow from operations minus net investment, minus dividends
Commercial performance higher than market average

The 13.3% increase in turnover reflects a better than market average commercial performance: Group sales volumes rose by 5.8%, whereas global shipments by champagne houses rose by only 2.2% between April and September 2011.

Thanks to a speeding up growth, the Laurent-Perrier brand has galvanized Group performance. Its value indicators continued the recovery begun in 2009-2010, with the export ratio gaining 3.8 points to 73.8% and the premium champagne ratio rising 3.3 points to 38.4%. Activity was especially dynamic on markets outside Europe, where the proportion of sales grew by 3 percentage points relative to the first half of last year. Especially noteworthy were the United States and Japan, where sales were up sharply over the half-year, confirming the brand’s growing international presence.

Taking advantage of a steady, coherent brand development investment policy, Laurent-Perrier has benefited from the warm welcome given to the new boxing and labelling of the brut champagne lines in January, from the launch of the 2002 vintage champagne and from communication campaigns featuring Cuvée Rosé.

The Group’s price/mix effect became markedly positive once more, at 7.8% compared with a negative 15.7% in the first half of the last financial year on the strength of the increased contribution of the Laurent-Perrier brand to turnover, the successful launch of Salon’s 1999 Vintage, and the price increase implemented during the first quarter.

Significant improvement in operating margin

Operating profit rose for the third consecutive semester, increasing by close to 10 million euros compared with the first half of the last financial year, and driving the operating margin above the 20% threshold to 21.6%. This significant improvement highlights the following advances:

• Gross margin picked up at 51.1%, a gain of 3.2 points in the first half thanks to a positive price/mix effect combined with an improvement in the grape harvest margin due to higher yields.

• At 27.5 million euros, commercial and administrative costs fell by 1.2 million euros over the period. The decrease reflects the Group’s continued strict financial management. Brand development investment amounted to 7.3% of turnover, in line with the long-term average.
The financial result was stable compared with the first half of FY 2010-2011, at 5.3 million euros. The tax rate was down slightly at 34.5%.

Group net income came to 9.49 million euros, treble the amount for the first half of the previous financial year.

Further improvement in net cash-flow and net debt reduction

Compared with the previous year, net cash-flow continued to pick up. Even if it remained in negative territory due to the seasonal nature of Group activity, it improved by 3 million euros during the six month period thanks to the trebling of net income and the stabilization of inventory levels.

The Group has, therefore, passed a new milestone in its debt reduction programme, which fell by 30 million euros in the space of twelve months, cutting the ratio of net debt to equity by 29 points in a year, to 120%.

Inventory levels remained far higher than net debt, standing at 1.65 times net debt, compared with 1.51 times a year earlier.

Outlook for 2011-2012

Commercial and financial performance in the first half cannot be extrapolated to the rest of the current year, as the global economic environment will be more uncertain in the second half and the comparison basis less favorable.

The Group can nevertheless reassert its strategic choices.

Its priority remains to speed up the pace of international development for the Laurent-Perrier brand. This will be driven by sustained investment in the brand image, notably with the celebration of the House’s bicentenary in 2012.

The Group will continue to strengthen its balance sheet in line with the wishes of family shareholders, who intend to defend the independence of the House and pursue its development over the long term.

Code ISIN: FR 0006864484
Bloomberg: LAUR FP
Reuters: LPER.PA

Laurent Perrier belongs to compartment B of Euronext Paris
It is part of the CAC Mid & Small, CAC Mid 60 and CAC All-Tradable indices

Champagne Laurent-Perrier – Champagne Salon – Champagne Delamotte – Champagne de Castellane

www.finance-groupelp.com:
www.finance.laurent-perrier.fr