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Chablis Commission Pleased with 2022 Harvest

Chablis grand cru vineyard

While Chablis declared 2021 to be a ‘complicated’ year, 2022 has proven to be a real contrast, with the Chablis Commission having declared this year’s harvest to be a healthier and overall higher-yielding one.

Paul Espitalié – president of the Chablis Commission – commented that 2022 was a much more dynamic vintage when compared to 2021, as the years before it had ushered in ‘challenges for winemakers in Chablis with the changing and unpredictable climate’.

Many winegrowers in Chablis rejoiced after the harvest this year as yields were plentiful and almost up to the maximum amount permitted. Because of this, the commission is hopeful that the region will be able to make up some lost ground with regards to volumes for export markets, where the UK still holds the top spot.

Espitalié commented that: ‘The UK continues to be our most important export market and we believe a key element to the continuing success of Chablis wines’. He also added that one of the commission’s main focuses is to increase consumer awareness of both Petit Chablis and Chablis wines.

‘These appellations have just as much to offer the market, particularly in the current financial climate in terms of offering great value wines,’ he said.

The 2022 harvest’s wines will be available in the UK shortly. Over the course of a year, a total of 3.8 million bottles were sold in the UK in 2021 – 2022.

Looking ahead, 17% of all Chablis vineyards are currently 100% organic and the subregion is also on track to hit the Burgundy-wide target of becoming carbon neutral by 2035. The aim of these initiatives is to improve the vineyards’ health and protect the local industry for the years to come.

Read more about the potential of Burgundy’s 2022 harvest here.

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Champagne Producers Fight Against Zero Herbicide U-Turn

stormy skies over champagne vineyard

Winemakers in Champagne have written an open letter – published in Le Monde on the 6th of December – that voiced their opposition to the professional bodies’ reneging on a commitment to phaze out the use of all chemical herbicides in the region by 2025.

The date was significant: it was the day of the Annual General Meeting of the Association Viticole Champenoise (AVC). At the AGM, both the Syndicat General des Vignerons (SGV) and the Union des Maisons de Champagne (UMC) had officially announced – five years previously – that herbicides would be banned.

Jean-Marie Barillère, former president of the UMC, commented in 2018: ‘There are only two possible outcomes: either we move forwards or we are forced to move, with all the risks the latter entails in ecological terms, in terms of image and therefore in economic terms for our industry and our businesses. I prefer to forge a path towards a virtuous Champagne, rather than keep dwelling on the past.’

Maxime Toubart, president of the Syndicat General des Vignerons, also said at the 2018 AGM: ‘Our objective is, in a few years’ time, to be able to talk about a 100% sustainable Champagne, that takes its commitments seriously and can be held up as an example, and which can proudly proclaim: zero herbicides.’

Despite previous assurances, in 2022, Toubart refused to add the zero-herbicide policy to the cahier des charges: the Champagne appellation’s rulebook. Because of this, the dispute between the SGV, the Association Biologique Champenoise (ACB) and a union of organic growers, has only gained momentum.

President of the ACB, Jérôme Bourgeois, commented: ‘It is unacceptable that a prestigious appellation like Champagne can even imagine walking back a core environmental promise made five years ago, especially in today’s ecological climate.’

While the main Champagne body (the CIVC) didn’t comment on the open letter at the 2022 Annual General Meeting, David Châtillon – UMC president – did speak about the importance of preserving ‘Champagne’s perceived image’. Promisingly, he also made it clear that the Champagne region is committed to its zero-herbicide pledge, although no deadline was given.

In their address, Toubert added that ‘Champagne was greener than it ever had been before.’ This was supported by Arnaud Descotes, the CIVC’s technical director, who highlighted that the new herbicide law brought in last year has restricted the number of treatments permitted, as well as which herbicides are allowed.

Whether the initial deadline to rule out herbicides by 2025 will be met remains to be seen. However, one thing is for sure, those who signed the open letter are still keeping up the pressure: ‘We, Champagne winegrowers, Champagne houses and members of cooperatives, call upon the SGV and the UMC to continue implementing their progress strategy by respecting the deadline of ‘Zero Herbicides by 2025’, embracing an effective and sustainable commitment of our sector, in the interests of all stakeholders in the Champagne region and our fellow citizens.’

Read more recent Champagne news: Moët Hennessy’s Champagne Stocks Running Low.

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Christie’s London Auction Reaches Over £2.12 million

Christies flag hanging outside building

Christie’s recent Finest and Rarest Wines & Spirits sale that took place in London on the 1st and 2nd of December reached over £2.12 million at auction. Lots included anniversary collections from Champagne Philipponnat and California’s Ridge Vineyards, as well as six bottles of Pétrus 2000.

The top lot was made up of six bottles of Pétrus 2000 and fetched an impressive £30,000, which was the same value as 12 bottles of Le Pin 2018. Representing Burgundy, six magnums of Georges Roumier, Bonnes Mares 2005 went for £25,000.

Other notable wine highlights in the sale included some very special lots unearthed from King’s College Cambridge’s cellars: six bottles of Château Lafite-Rothschild 1959 that raised £20,000, 12 bottles of Taylor 1948 Port that went for £11,875 and six bottles of Croft 1945 that sold for £6,875.

The London sale celebrated Ridge Vineyards’ 60th anniversary. The collection comprised wines from each of its six decades and raised a total of £117,075. Mixed lots consisted of bottles, magnums and large formats of the leading Napa producer’s most exclusive wines, offered straight from its cellars. The star expression was undoubtedly nine magnums of Ridge Monte Bello that sold for £7,500.

Another key milestone the sale paid honour to was the 500th year anniversary since April de Philipponnat arrived in Champagne in 1522. The Champagne house presented 11 lots direct from its cellars and all of them sold, raising a total of £13,763. Particular highlights included three magnums of Clos des Goisses L.V. 1996.

A spokesperson from Christie’s commented that buyers from 22 countries, across five continents took part in the auction. Interestingly, millennial collectors were well represented, with 46% of new registrants being part of this demographic.

Read more about the recent Hospices de Beaune Burgundy auction here.

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2020 Château Mouton Rothschild Label Unveiled

Painting on 2020 Mouton Rothschild label

Château Mouton Rothschild has unveiled its 2020 label by Scottish artist Peter Doig. The renowned figurative painter settled in Trinidad in 2002 and divides his time between there and Scotland. Doig is the first British artist to have been commissioned to paint this leading Bordeaux château’s label since Lucien Freud in 2006. Other famous British contributors include (formerly) Prince Charles in 2004 and Francis Bacon in 1990. 

The initiative to invite an artist to adorn the Château Mouton Rothschild bottle label with a painting first began in 1924 with the poster artist Jean Carlu. 

The 2020 label is of a dreamlike scene showing red grapes growing under the light of a full moon with workers in the vineyard. Doig has drawn parallels with other renowned artists such as van Gogh, Bacon and Cézanne who have all painted farm or vineyard workers. The main figure in the centre of the piece – Emheyo Bhabba – is one of Doig’s close connections and muses. A Trinidadian cuatro player, Emheyo has previously performed in one of the artist’s previous exhibitions in Paris using this four string guitar.

‘The painting shows something of what goes on behind the scenes in the production of wine, what happens offstage, as it were’, commented Doig. ‘It’s a sort of ode to workers, to all those involved at the various stages of making a wine before it’s finally bottled. It’s a dream with a romantic streak, as if someone spontaneously decided to sing in the vines. It’s a moment of poetry, where you can take your time. It’s neither really day nor really night, but rather something in between, between waking and sleeping. It is possible to see it as a progression, a dream journey in the world of the harvest.’

Commenting on this new label, Julien Beaumarchais de Rothschild said: ‘We wanted an artist who uses canvas and pictorial material to express figurative subjects.’ ‘Unrivalled as a colourist, Peter Doig focuses entirely on painting and has become one of his generation’s foremost exponents of the discipline, holding exhibitions all over the world. There is something very special about his technique and his universe that sets them apart in contemporary figurative art. His subjects are very varied, his painting resists any classification: he has succeeded in creating his own, inimitable world.’

Take a closer look at the 2020 label and at previous years’ here.

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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.