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Moët Hennessy’s Champagne Stocks Running Low

Bottle of Krug Grande Cuvee

Moët Hennessy’s CEO has commented that due to high demand from affluent buyers in the run up to Christmas, its Champagnes are ‘running out of stock’.

Philippe Schaus, Moët Hennessy’s CEO, spoke to Bloomberg Television and said that the French luxury company – that owns top Champagne brands including, Dom Pérignon, Krug, Moët & Chandon and Veuve Clicquot – was ‘running out of stock’ of some of its bubbly. This is mainly due to Covid rules having been relaxed and more people socialising.

‘As people are coming out of Covid there’s been pent up demand for luxury, enjoyment and travelling,’ Schaus commented.

Schaus didn’t elaborate on which Champagnes were running low, or hint at what the state-of-play is with specific brands’ stock levels.

Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH) shared last month that its wine and spirit divisions had delivered double-digit revenue growth in Q3 of this year. Still wines and Champagne were the best performing categories. 

The luxury conglomerate announced that sales had risen ‘sharply’ this year in Europe, the United States and Japan. The two main drivers of this growth can be attributed to international travel resuming after the pandemic, as well as ‘solid demand’ from consumers.

On the subject of the strength of the US dollar in the market, Bloomberg made the point that strong growth might simply have been because US shoppers were able to take advantage of this by buying luxury items in Europe. However, Schaus indicated that there is still uncertainty out there due to rising inflation. It’s possible that some products will go up in price due to the rising cost of raw materials. 

Find out more about Dom Pérignon’s new P2 2004 release in our recent news article.

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Hospices de Beaune 2022 Wine Auction

Exterior of the Hotel Dieu in Beaune with the sun falling on the roof's tiles

Each year since 1859, the Hospices de Beaune has taken place on the third weekend in November. It’s the world’s most famous charity wine auction that happens in the heart of Burgundy’s Côte d’Or: the town of Beaune. Christie’s auction house had organised the annual event since 2005 and it is undeniably the key occasion in any Burgundy lover’s calendar. However, it bounced back last year with a physical auction (2020 was virtual due to Coronavirus) and with a new auction house at the helm too: Sotheby’s.

The History of the Hospices de Beaune 

The Hôtel Dieu (God’s House) was built in 1443 by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Burgundy Nicolas Rolin and was originally a charitable hospital. It was founded to house sick Burgundians and help them recover there. The auction was first created in order to raise funds to support the Hospices’ benevolent works. Today, it is no longer a hospital, nor are any wines made there as a new winery was constructed in 1994. However, the funds raised from the auction continue to support those who work in the vineyards. Even those who may not be familiar with the auction might just recognise the eye-catching roof tiles of the Hôtel Dieu that shimmer in the Côte d’Or sunlight.

The 2022 Wine Auction

This year’s 162nd edition of this prestigious wine auction will take place on Sunday the 20th of November. Sotheby’s has announced that it is set to be one of the largest auctions in its history, with a total of 802 barrels from the 2022 vintage that hail from all of the 51 cuvées.

The auction will be made up of 620 barrels of red wines and 182 barrels of white wines from 60-hectares of holdings belonging to the Hospices which are in their second year of organic conversion. Two new cuvées that are included are the Corton Grand Cru, Cuvée Les Renardes and Beaune Premier Cru, Clos des Mouches, Cuvée Hugues et Louis Bétault.

Each year the auction features a special charity barrel – the Pièce des Présidents – (the Presidents’ barrel). This year, the selected charity barrel is a Corton Grand Cru, in honour of Louis Fabrice Latour, former head of Burgundy négociant Maison Louis Latour, who passed away in September. 

The proceeds from this charity lot will help support the Princesse Margot Association that helps children with cancer and the World Vision Organisation that comes to the aid of vulnerable children.

The 2021 auction, which was run by Sotheby’s for the first time, raised  €12.6 million in total, with a record €800,000 solely for the Presidents’ barrel.

Read more about this year’s Burgundy vintage here.

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Dom Pérignon Reveals the 2004 Plénitude 2

Bottle of Plenitude 2004

Dom Pérignon is launching its new 2004 Vintage Plénitude 2 (P2) Champagne this month in Hong Kong where the prestigious Champagne house has also announced its brand new member of the Hong Kong Dom Pérignon Society.

The Plénitude 2 wines represent the Champagne being ‘elevated to its second life’. With ‘close to 15 years of slow transformation in the cellars’, the wines take on a new ‘vitality’ with this extra maturation.

This launch focuses on the 2004 vintage, a year which the maison commented on as being ‘a year of renaissance and calm’. While August was cooler than normal, the weeks that superseded it brought a dry heat that allowed the vines to grow the ripest and fullest fruit.

The house has now released its tasting notes for the new 2004 expression which has some 18 years of age. On the nose, expect ‘citrusy notes of pink grapefruit and blood orange, which gently cede to figs’. There’s also plenty of brioche and roasted nuts on the palate with this new release ending with an elegant finish.

William Kelley at Wine Advocate awarded this new 2004 vintage 95 points and proclaimed that it is ‘drinking beautifully on release’.

The Dom Pérignon Society is a global network of top chefs and proponents whose main focus is on Plénitude 2. The newest member of this elite group, which comprises 64 global chefs and restaurants, is Chef Julien Tongourian who works at Hong Kong’s L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon.

Tongourian will now join his two fellow Hong Kong counterparts: Chef Maxime Gilbert of two Michelin-starred Écriture and Chef Richard Ekkebus at Amber at Landmark Mandarin Oriental which also has two Michelin stars.

To launch the 2004 Dom Pérignon P2, each of the three Dom Pérignon Society Members in Hong Kong have created a special menu to accompany this new Champagne release. Each menu will represent an interpretation of a key moment in each of the Chefs’ careers. The menus are available now at the above three Hong Kong restaurants for a limited time.

Read more news from the Champagne world in this recent article about Champagne Henriot’s merger.

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US Buyer Acquires Bordeaux’s Château Lascombes

Exterior of Chateau Lascombes from the vineyard

The US buyer whose recent purchase of Château Lascombes – that topped the list as the most expensive acquisition in the Médoc ever – has been revealed as Lawrence Family Wine Estates.

This is the US investor’s first acquisition in Bordeaux and, indeed, its first ever purchase in Europe. The family’s existing portfolio of brands include sought-after Napa names such as Heitz Cellars, Burgess and Stony Hill Vineyard.

While the full details of the sale haven’t been disclosed, it is a strategic and important one. Château Lascombes is a leading Second Growth located in the Margaux appellation. This top estate rubs shoulders with the four other leading Margaux châteaux including, Châteaux Rauzan-Ségla, Rauzan-Gassies, Brane Cantenac and Durfort-Vivens. What sets Lascombes apart is its size: the estate is the largest in the appellation and spans just over 110 hectares with an additional 10 hectares in neighbouring Haut-Médoc.

The French press reported the acquisition as the largest sole financial transaction in the Médoc’s history. However, what is interesting from the Lawrence Family Wine Estates’ press release is that, and there is little detail, a minority stake in Château Lascombes is to continue to be held by its previous owners, Mutuelle d’Assurance du Corps de Santé Français (MACSF)

Since its foundation in the 17th Century, the estate has changed hands a number of times. Most recently, in 2001, the USA’s Colony Capital bought it for $67 million and then sold it in 2011 to MACSF for an estimated €200 million.

Commenting on its recent acquisition, Gaylon Lawrence, owner of Lawrence Family Wine Estates’, said: ‘We are honoured to become the new stewards of such a historical estate. This Château has some of the greatest vineyards in Margaux and our family looks forward to caring for Château Lascombes for many generations to come’.

Currently, Lascombes represents great value when compared to other Second Growths. Its average price on Wine Track is £689, compared to Château Cos d’Estournel at £1,580, Château Montrose at £1,300 and Château Léoville las Cases at £1,980. Could this new purchase and the recent investment in new winemaking facilities be the beginning of a change in its price point, just like the ones we’ve seen in recent years at Châteaux Figeac and Canon?

Discover the other high profile acquisitions in the world of fine wine in our recent article. 

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Increased Global Demand for Fine Wines

Joseph Phelps bottles

Global wine sales are on the up as large retail outlets in Asia and the USA have begun purchasing a wider array of sought-after fine wines and distributing and selling them throughout their sites.

In Asia, South Korea’s Lotte Department Store has, according to local news outlets, started hiring world-class sommeliers who are buying fine wines from traditional wine regions. What’s more, its sommeliers are curating these selections to offer a point of difference to the wines usually available to buy on the domestic market. With mid-priced wines having had to make way for more premium ones, the department store chain announced that its wine sales grew over 20% in September. 

Shinsegae Property, the property arm of the Korean-based luxury company, purchased Napa’s Shafer Vineyards in February earlier this year, as well as  the nine-hectare Wildfoote Vineyard in the Stags Leap District of Napa Valley in August. Shinsegae’s aim is to supply fine wines from boutique producers to its Shinsegae Department Store.

Similarly, the Hyundai Department Store has created Vino H, with the objective of sourcing, importing and distributing premium organic wines from around the globe especially for the South Korean market. 

According to a new report created by Rabobank, it predicts that super premium wines in the USA should weather a recession. Stephen Rannekleiv – Rabobank’s global strategist for beverages – commented that while his ‘expectation is that demand for super premium brands will soften notably in Q4 and turn noticeably negative in 2023 … we believe that the long-term growth trend of super premium brands remains intact.’

Rannekleiv also highlighted that, in the USA, merger and acquisitions have been rapidly taking place and, for the most part, this is in the premium tier. Some of the recent acquisitions include LVMH buying Joseph Phelps Vineyards and Treasury Wine Estates’ purchase of Frank Family Wines. 

With the global appetite for fine wines accelerating, more and more corporations are on the lookout to purchase these highly sought-after wineries and vineyards. In the USA, it’s rumoured that the amount paid to acquire estates’ recently has been incredibly high.

Want to learn more about the growing US market? Read our United States Report to find out the top regions, producers and wines to look out for.

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Masi Celebrates its 250th Harvest

Boscaini family in a vineyard

Masi is celebrating a significant milestone this year: the 250th harvest from its vineyards located in the ‘Vaio dei Masi’, a small valley in the heart of Veneto’s Valpolicella Classica region in Italy. The Boscaini family has tended the vines over the centuries to create today’s world-class wines.

‘This is the story of an inseparable bond of a surname, “Boscaini” and a place name “Vaio dei Masi”, driven by the work of those same members of the family who, over the generations, have cultivated the vines, transformed the grapes into wine and marketed it. At the same time, it is fused with the events involving that original, founding vineyard, how it was acquired and later integrated into ever greater properties, how its name has marked the human and entrepreneurial path taken by my family, through to today’s Masi Agricola S.p.A.’ commented President of Masi Agricola, Sandro Boscaini.

In honour of this landmark achievement, Masi threw a spectacular event with a guestlist that included seven generations of the Boscaini family, prominent Italian winemaking figures and international press. 

Masi’s ‘Monument to Amarone’

While recognising its past and Masi’s forefathers, the event was also an opportunity to showcase what the company’s new headquarters will look like, its construction delayed due to the pandemic. Named ‘Monteleone 21’, this new site will also encompass its ‘Masi Wine Experience’, helping visitors connect with this heritage-rich wine brand in a very modern building ‘powered by solar panels and geothermal energy’. The drying facility will undoubtedly be its biggest spectacle, with racks reaching some 12 metres high with bunches of Corvina, Molinara, Rondinella and Oseleta grapes drying out. Masi’s managing director, Federico Girotto, proclaimed it will be ‘a monument to Amarone’.

The event culminated in bottles of the 1997 Amarone being opened, with guests toasting to both this 250-year milestone and to the company’s future 250 years, which look sure to be full of innovation.

Interested in finding out more about investment-grade Italian wines? Read our article on Tuscan wines to invest in.

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Rothschild Group to Expand into Central Otago

Akarua vineyard in the sun

The Bordeaux-based Edmond de Rothschild Heritage Group has received approval from New Zealand’s Overseas Investment Office to purchase the Akarua winery and vineyard. This takeover will enable the group to make its first organic wines.

The 52-hectare Akarua estate is located close to Cromwell in the Central Otago region. The group intends to convert the vineyard to organic viticulture. 

However, this is not The Rothschild Group’s first New Zealand purchase, it made a joint purchase in 2012 with Craggy Range of the 24-hectare Rimapere vineyard in Marlborough that is planted with Sauvignon Blanc.   

Commenting on the purchase, president of the Edmond de Rothschild Group – Ariane de Rothschild – highlighted that the Bannockburn soils were ‘on par with the Burgundy region’ and that they had the potential to create some of the world’s finest Pinot Noir.

Expanding further on the group’s strategy, she said: ‘The addition of our second New Zealand winery is part of our wider strategy to develop a portfolio of premium international wines from exceptional terroirs. Central Otago’s international reputation for Pinot Noir provides a unique opportunity for us to complete our range and move into the production of organic wines – one of the fastest growing categories.’

‘The purchase of Akarua has seen us add a winery with strong growth potential to our portfolio, expanding our Pinot Noir offering and solidifying our position as a premium producer that sells wines exclusively produced from our own vines,’ commented chairman of Edmond de Rothschild Heritage, Alexis de La Palme.

Sir Clifford Skeggs founded the Akarua estate in 1996. David Skeggs, managing director of the Skeggs Group, said of the recent acquisition: ‘It is not without sadness that we hand over the Akarua legacy to Edmond de Rothschild Heritage… But we are equally as excited to follow the brand’s future in New Zealand and overseas.’

Akarua currently produces over 60,000 bottles annually for both domestic and export markets. The wine will continue to be made and, from the 2023 vintage and beyond, certain elements of the Rothschild’s family crest will be included on the label. 

Edmond de Rothschild Heritage owns assets in wine, hotels and farming. Iconic wine brands in its portfolio include: Bordeaux’s Château Malmaison and a leading stake in Château Lafite Rothschild, Vega Sicilia in Spain and Rupert & Rothschild Vignerons – with the Rupert family – in South Africa’s Franschhoek Valley.

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Pinault Family forms Merger with Maisons & Domaines Henriot

Bottle of Henriot Champagne

The French billionaire and luxury goods magnate, Francois Pinault, has revealed a new merger with Maisons & Domaines Henriot. This deal will combine highly sought-after names in fine wine such as Bordeaux’s Château Latour, Burgundy’s Clos de Tart and Champagne Henriot all in one group.

This new group will adopt the name ‘Artémis Domaines’. With this new announcement, it was revealed that Francois Pinault will hold a 75% stake in the group, with the families behind Henriot controlling the remaining quarter.

This merger further consolidates the high-end French fine wine business. In recent years it has attracted investment from both foreign and corporate players, especially in regions such as Burgundy that historically was predominantly made up of boutique, family-run wineries. 

Brands that will now fall under Artémis Domaines include: Burgundy’s Clos de Tart and Domaine d’Eugenie – from the Pinault family – as well as Burgundy’s William Fèvre and Maison Henriot in Champagne, from Henriot. 

According to a statement, this new merger represents ‘a guarantee that a French group will ensure the long-term preservation’ of these brands and their winemaking expertise.

‘The merger of Maisons & Domaines Henriot and Artémis Domaines is a wonderful opportunity to bring together the treasures of our wine heritage under the same banner,’ Francois Pinault commented.

Further afield, Artémis Domaines will also be in charge of producers including Beaux-Frères in Oregon and Eisele Vineyard in California’s Napa Valley. Pinault is 86 years-old and has an estimated fortune of over $30 billion and is also an avid art collector, counting Christie’s in the family’s holdings also. 

This move sees Pinault strengthen the group against the other major luxury player in fine wine and fashion – LVMH – which owns Bordeaux’s Château d’Yquem and Château Cheval Blanc, as well as Burgundy’s Domaine des Lambrays and the Champagne brands Krug and Dom Pérignon. Read more about LVMH’s recent acquisition of California’s Joseph Phelps.

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The 2022 Burgundy Wines’ Real Potential

Report Cover

The Burgundy Wine Board (BIVB) announced that the wines from the 2022 Burgundy harvest have real ‘potential’. This vintage will be dedicated to Louis Fabrice Latour, the former president of the trade association, who passed away earlier this month.

Commenting on the recent harvest, the BIVB said that it had been ‘a pleasant surprise’ and that it was ‘a vintage of the kind we were all hoping for.’ Despite cold temperatures and frosts, the board is happy with both the quantity of grapes that will go into this year’s wines as well as their quality.

The 2022 Burgundy Vintage

The growing season began at the start of April having experienced a milder winter with less rain than usual. Temperatures dropped mid-April and two snaps of frost followed. Fortunately, budburst hadn’t taken place completely and buds were not fully exposed to the frosts, although some areas did experience small amounts of damage. 

Spring arrived and brought excellent conditions with it. Flowering took place two weeks earlier than usual which led to many commentators suggesting that the 2022 vintage could be one of the earliest ever. Thunderstorms in late June refreshed the vines but also brought some hailstorms which caused ‘significant damage’ in some areas.

Contrary to the belief that the harvest would start earlier than normal, pickers started harvesting Chardonnay on the 20th of August which is in line with previous years. It was a prolonged harvest due to the good weather which helped produce optimally-ripe grapes. 

The board agreed that this year’s grapes are ‘balanced with controlled degrees of alcohol and good acidity.’ It found that the compounds in the red grapes were ‘excellent’ which are needed for long-term ageing. The BIVB also commented that the musts of the whites and reds were ‘highly aromatic’ which is another positive sign. 

This year’s harvest is what the Burgundians had hoped for, as the 2021 vintage suffered very low yields and in turn triggered higher prices. However, 2022’s yields were still down on average.

Find out more about our initial thoughts on the Burgundy 2022 vintage in this article.

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Stags’ Leap Winery Appoints New Head Winemaker

Ludo Dervin in vineyard

One of the oldest wineries in Napa Valley’s Stags Leap District has appointed Ludovic Dervin as Senior Winemaker and General Manager. Christophe Paubert has managed the winery for 13 years and will retire after the 2022 harvest and return to France, his home country. Both Dervin and Paubert will work together on this year’s vintage.  

A fellow Frenchman who’s originally from the Champagne region, Dervin has been making wine in California since the 1990s. His CV boasts such prestigious wineries as Kendall Jackson’s Vérité, Hartford Court and Mumm Napa.

‘We believe Ludo’s global experience, diverse background and passion for producing world-class wines makes him an excellent choice to continue the Stags’ Leap Winery legacy,’ commented Rachel Ashley, Sr. Vice President, Supply, for Treasury Americas. ‘Christophe’s commitment to quality, authenticity and sustainability has made a profound impact on Stags’ Leap Winery and we feel fortunate that he led this historic property for many years.’

Dervin was attracted to Stags’ Leap’s signature style of winemaking in particular and commented that he’s ‘thrilled to join Stags’ Leap Winery as its newest caretaker and for the opportunity to work with a brand that is known for its refined elegance, finesse and level of traditionality that really showcases the incredible quality of the fruit.’ He also added that he’s ‘look(ing) forward to taking the leap into its newest chapter.’

Stags’ Leap Winery was established in 1893 in the eponymous Stags Leap District and continues to use traditional techniques to create estate wines from a 240-acre property situated on dark, well-drained volcanic soils. While the estate is best known for its classic Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, this authentic, time-tested brand is also admired for its expressions of Sauvignon Blanc, Petite Syrah and Viognier.

Read more about Shafer Vineyard’s recent purchase of a nine-hectare vineyard in the Stags Leap District here.