Piper-Heidsieck To Launch Essentiel

Piper-Heidsieck is launching a cuvee this September aimed at the champagne connoisseur and will be exclusive to the UK on-trade and select wine merchants.

Essentiel is a low-dosage offering at 5g/l compared to the Brut NV at 9/10g/l, and has received an additional 12-18 months of ageing. Additional information will be displayed on the label, such as, disgorgement and cellaring dates which will communicate that extra level of detail to an engaged champagne audience.

Chef de Caves, Régis Camus states:
“I am proud of this Extra-Brut cuvée which symbolises the essence of our champagnes. This extra-aged and lower dosage wine is the pure expression of Piper-Heidsieck style: a structured, crisp and ardent wine.”

Winemakers tasting notes: bright, crisp and firm, you can expect notes of citrus, grapes, crisp apple, almond and salinity.

Price – GBP37.99 (US$49) per bottle

Champagne is on a strong upswing in the U.S. market


Propelled by a new generation of highly aspirational consumers, Champagne is on a strong upswing in the U.S. market. Depletions have accelerated each of the past two years, advancing by 5% in 2016 to surpass 1.4 million cases, according to Impact Databank. Meanwhile, shipment value has exploded. Since 2010, Champagne shipments to the U.S. have grown by two-thirds—or about 11% annually—to reach €540 million ($607m) in 2016. Last year, the pace of value expansion slowed slightly, to 5%, and Champagne shipments’ per-case value dipped about 1%—but that marginal correction followed a breakout 2015 during which value had surged by 28%.

Champagne marketers are bullish on the category’s future prospects. “Whether it’s with Prosecco or another sparkler, younger consumers are starting to enjoy sparkling wines on more occasions,” says Bill Terlato, president and CEO of Terlato Wine Group, which markets the Piper-Heidsieck and Duval-Leroy Champagne brands. “If we get them involved with sparkling wine, eventually they’re going to start to want Champagne, which is the ultimate sparkling wine.

Veuve Clicquot and Moët & Chandon, both imported by Moët Hennessy USA, continued to dominate the category in 2016, comprising 51% of the total U.S. Champagne market. Together, Moët Hennessy’s dynamic duo has expanded by more than 20% over the past three years, and is poised to break the 900,000-case threshold in combined volume this year. Two sweeter line extensions—Moët & Chandon Ice Imperial and Veuve Clicquot Rich—are appealing to younger consumers, according to Rodney Williams, CMO at Moët Hennessy USA. “Moët Ice was the first Champagne to launch at a higher dosage level, specifically to accommodate ice,” he says, noting that reception has been strong. Veuve Clicquot Rich ($63) is aimed at injecting Champagne into the mixology movement. “We believe these two innovations can take hold and create a whole new segment in the Champagne category,” Williams says. Moët Hennessy USA’s higher-end bubbly stable is also on the rise. Dom Perignon, ranked fifth in the market by volume despite a price point of above $160 a bottle, grew 4.3% to 61,000 cases last year.

Pernod Ricard’s Perrier-Jouët was the only top-five brand to register a consumption decline in 2016. The third-ranked Champagne brand slipped 3.6% to 77,000 cases in 2016, a drop that came on the heels of a 12% gain the year before. Nicolas Feuillatte, at number four, registered a 7.9% increase to 62,000 cases, regaining half the volume it had lost in 2015, when depletions slumped 16.2%. Overall, 12 of the top 20 Champagne brands in the U.S. market posted volume increases last year.

Aygline Pechdo, brand director, Champagne and sparkling at Pernod Ricard USA, says millennials are becoming key drivers of category volume. “The consumer base has diversified over the years and the consumption of Champagne is no longer reserved to the elite or older demographics,” Pechdo says. “In fact, most of the volume today is driven by ‘high-energy’ occasions, very much in line with millennials’ lifestyle and their desire to celebrate each day to its fullest—not just special occasions.”

Top 6 Champagne Brands in the U.S.
(thousands of nine-liter case depletions)

1 Veuve Clicquot Moet-Hennessy USA (LVMH)
2 Moet & Chandon Moet-Hennessy USA (LVMH)
3 Perrier-Jouet Pernod Ricard USA
4 Nicolas Feuillatte Ste. Michelle Wine Estates
5 Dom Perignon Moet-Hennessy USA (LVMH)
6 Piper Heidsieck Terlato Wines International

Sources: Shanken News; Impact Databank

PIPER-HEIDSIECK RETURNS TO THE 2017 OSCARS WITH LIMITED EDITION MAGNUMS

 

On the heels of yesterday’s 89th Oscars nominations announcement, Piper-Heidsieck, the revered Champagne house, announced its return to the red carpet as the Champagne to be served during the 2017 Academy Awards season.

To honor this partnership, Piper-Heidsieck has created a limited-edition magnum to be poured exclusively at the ceremony and Governors Ball. An exceptional bottle for an exceptional night, the Piper-Heidsieck Cuvée Brut magnum is enrobed in red and features a design of gold film that encircles the bottle.

The 2017 Academy Awards season marks the third year of a long-term partnership between Piper-Heidsieck and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

“On behalf of Piper-Heidsieck, I want to congratulate all the nominees for this great recognition by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences,” said Benoit Collard, global executive director of Piper-Heidsieck. “Piper-Heidsieck has a long and rich association with cinema and is proud to return to the Oscars, the ultimate arbiter of cinematic achievement in film.”

In addition to the awards ceremony on February 26, Piper-Heidsieck will be poured at Academy events in Los Angeles, New York and London, including the Oscars Nominees Luncheon on February 6.

Get red carpet ready for Oscars® night with Piper-Heidsieck! #PiperReady

 The U.S. Becomes Champagne’s Top Export Market

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA - DECEMBER 29: Bottles of champagne are seen on display at a Costco store December 29, 2008 in South San Francisco, California. As the economy continues to falter, sales of sparkling wine and champagne are down this year compared to a 4 percent surge from last year. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The Champagne category is bubbling over in the U.S. market, driven by a dynamic premiumization trend. With per-case value up 20% to over €300 ($334) last year, the U.S. overtook the U.K. as Champagne’s top export market by value in 2015. Champagne shipments to the U.S. leapt 28% to €515 million ($573m) for the year, surpassing the U.K.’s total of €512 million ($570m), which itself represented a 7% bump. U.S. depletions, at 1.4 million cases last year, remain shy of their 2007 total of 1.6 million cases, but shipment value has surged by nearly 60% since 2010, according to Impact Databank. A slide in the euro—whose value against the dollar is down by about 20% over the past two years—has helped to stoke growth.

From 2010-2014, Champagne’s value on a per-case basis rose a respectable 10% in the U.S., adding around $25. But in 2015 alone, it more than doubled that incremental growth, tacking on about $55 in value to the average case of Champagne. Price hikes and a stronger emphasis on higher-end bubblies are both contributing to the dramatic rise in value.

Piper-Heidsieck, which transitioned from the Rémy Cointreau USA portfolio to Terlato Wines last July, is employing both of those tactics. Piper is extending with a Rare Rosé this year, which will be priced at a premium to prestige cuvée Rare Brut, becoming the brand’s highest-priced offering. While looking to increase its high-end sales, Piper has also taken price hikes on its core Brut non-vintage. “Previously you’d sometimes see the Brut as low as $29.99 on the shelf. Over the holidays last year the average was above $39.99, which is a nice move in the right direction,” says Terlato CEO Bill Terlato.

The third-largest Champagne in the U.S. market, Pernod Ricard’s Perrier-Jouët, is seeing strong results for its prestige cuvée Belle Epoque, which sells above $150 a bottle. “The on-premise is back on a healthy trend and it’s a key driver for our portfolio,” says Aygline Pechdo, brand director for Champagnes at Pernod Ricard USA.

Meanwhile, market leader Moët Hennessy USA continues to enjoy impressive progress with the dynamic duo of Veuve Clicquot and Moët & Chandon, which dominate the category with a combined 60% share. Portfoliomate Dom Perignon is also among the top five Champagnes in the U.S. in volume terms—totaling nearly 60,000 cases annually—despite a retail price above $160 a bottle.

Fourth-ranked player Nicolas Feuillatte tells SND it’s focused on expanding Champagne into new consumption occasions. “We’ll be launching new advertising and social media campaigns this year which support our vision for the future of Champagne as more modern and accessible,” says Feuillatte’s Americas export manager Olivier Zorel. —Daniel Marsteller

U.S. – Top Six Champagne Brands
(thousands of nine-liter cases)
DepletionsPercent Change3
RankBrandImporter2013201420152013-20142014-2015
1Veuve ClicquotMoet Hennessy USA (LVMH)3834154538.3%9.3%
2Moet & Chandon1Moet Hennessy USA (LVMH)3543693824.1%3.6%
3Perrier-JouetPernod Ricard USA717180-0.3%11.8%
4Nicolas FeuillatteSte. Michelle Wine Estates6768681.5%0.0%
5Dom PerignonMoet Hennessy USA (LVMH)5659585.2%-1.7%
6Piper HeidsieckTerlato Wines International514542-11.4%-7.0%
Total Top Six29831,0271,0834.5%5.4%
1 excludes Dom Perignon
2 addition of columns may not agree due to rounding
3 based on unrounded dataSource: IMPACT DATABANK

Source: Shanken News

 

Liz Palmer

liz-palmer.com

@Champagnehouses

@LizPalmer_

Champagne Gift Box by Piper-Heidsieck and Baccarat

ch1Piper-Heidsieck has teamed up with French crystal-maker Baccarat to create a $650.00 holiday gift featuring two bottles of vintage champagne and a pair of custom-made flutes.

Set in a red-varnished wood case, the limited edition gift set includes a bottle of 1996 and a bottle of 2006 Vintage Brut, along with two Chateau Baccarat flutes, designed by oenologist Bruno Quenioux.