Jay-Z and Beyonce toast Obama with Ace of Spades

In a move befitting for hip-hop royalty, dynamic duo Jay-Z and Beyonce hosted a $40,000-a-ticket fundraiser for Barack Obama last night featuring a 350-bottle Armand de Brignac Champagne tower, as reported on db.com. Designed by Jeffrey Beers, the bespoke tower, composed of 350 bottles of Armand de Brignac Brut Gold NV, took centre stage at the glitzy event at Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club in New York.

“Floor-to-ceiling gold bottles fill the entire space. It’s beautiful, breathtaking. It’s the first thing you see when you walk in,” a spokesperson for the club told The New York Post. According to The New York Times, Obama kicked off the intimate dinner for 100 guests by thanking Beyonce and Jay-Z for their friendship. He went on to say that he felt a sense of kinship with Jay-Z because, “we both have daughters and our wives are more popular than we are.”

Beyonce’s speech was short and sweet: “I can’t tell you how proud we are to host tonight’s event with President Obama. We believe in his vision,” she said as she introduced the US president. The White House, which meticulously controls Obama’s image, is not expected to release any photos from the dinner. Before the event, Obama made an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman.

Jay-Z’s relationship with Armand de Brignac, produced by Champagne Cattier, stretches back to the Champagne’s launch in 2006, when bottles of it appeared in his music video for the single Show Me What You Got.

The fizz, a favourite of rappers such as Kanye West and Drake, is facing a false-advertising lawsuit from Krug and Dom Pérignon owners LVMH over claims that it is “rated the number one Champagne in the world,” which LVMH believes is “intentionally misleading consumers.”

“Moët is not a machine”

Benoit Gouez, cellar master of Moët & Chandon, has spoken out about the LVMH-owned Champagne house, insisting it is not a volume-driven “machine." Speaking to the drinks business during a Moët Brut Impérial base wines tasting in London this week, Gouez said: “We’re not a big industrial machine that only cares about volume; we care about quality and detail.” Gouez was referring to his decision to stop the 2011 harvest for a week and send 800 pickers home while still paying them – a first in Moët’s history – to improve the chances of the vintage.

“I wanted to send a message out to the Champenois that we care about quality. The cost was an issue for financial people – the most important thing was whether I could get a vintage wine out of it. It paid off, but I still haven’t decided if I’m going to declare the 2011 vintage or not.” Gouez did admit however, that being a big company has its advantages.“ Bigger is better because it gives you access to the best grapes and buys you the luxury of choice. We were only able to stop the harvest because we’re big,” he said.

He admitted that he prefers the challenge of more difficult years like 2003 to easy years like 2002.“People should judge winemakers on difficult years – that’s where the skill comes in. It gets boring if things are too easy,” he said. Despite referring to it as “a piece of cake” to work with, Gouez described Chardonnay as the “biggest disappointment” in 2011, Pinot Noir as “light” and Pinot Meunier as a pleasant surprise. “Pinot Meunier developed nicely in 2011 and is showing a lovely purity on the mid-palate,” he said, defending the grape as having “a role to play” in Champagne.

“Pinot Meunier is the bridge between Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. You have to adapt your winemaking and treat it like a white grape in order to preserve its freshness and fruitiness,” he revealed. As to whether he would consider putting disgorgement dates on Moët Brut Impérial, Gouez doesn’t feel the public is ready for it. “A lot of consumers don’t even know the difference between vintage and non-vintage Champagne, so disgorgement dates are only going to confuse them further. They might think it’s a bottling date, or, even worse, a best before date,” he said, though did reveal that putting the information on a QR code on the back label was a possibility.

Speaking of the 2012 vintage, Gouez admitted conditions thus far have been challenging. “It won’t be a huge crop, that’s for sure, but the quality of a harvest is decided in the last few weeks before the grapes are picked, so we’ll have to wait and see,” he said. In the meantime, 2004 will be the next Moët vintage release, which will go on sale in the UK late August, with 2004 Rosé following in February 2013. Gouez describes the vintage as “racy, slick and elegant”, but lacking the power of 2003 and the richness of 2002, “dozens of thousands” of bottles of which have been kept back in the Moët cellars to be used in the Vintage Collection series. “We’ll see 2002 again,” he confirmed, revealing 2006 will be a vintage year, but not 2005, as he doesn’t believe the quality is there.

Gouez predicts however, that many Champagne houses will release 2005 to cash in on the success of the 2005 vintage in Bordeaux and Burgundy. Speaking of the 2009 vintage, Gouez glowingly compared it to 2002: “2009 was an easy year: ripe, clean, well balanced. There were no decisions to make, it’s already bottled. Keen to push Moët rosé in a big way in 2013, Gouez believes the house’s pink offering has been under the radar for too long. “We’re the leader in the category but nobody knows it,” he said. 

LVMH profit boosted by wine and spirits

The world's largest luxury goods group, LVMH, reported a 1% rise in 2011 net profit this week, as the company continues to show strong growth in its wine and spirits division, despite economic uncertainty in Europe. As reported on the drinks business, the group’s net profit topped €3 billion as sales jumped 16% last year, driven mainly by spending in Asia. "I'm going to be a bit repetitive because 2011 was an excellent year like 2010, and like I hope 2012 will be," said chief executive Bernard Arnault.

"After an exceptional 2011, LVMH is well-equipped to continue its growth momentum across all divisions in 2012. Its strategy will remain focused on developing brands through strong innovation, quality and expansion in high potential markets," he added. The French group’s portfolio includes Champagne brands Dom Pérignon, Krug, Veuve Clicquot and Moët & Chandon, Château d’Yquem in Sauternes, and Château Cheval Blanc in St Emilion. It also owns Glenmorangie and Ardbeg whiskies, and Belvedere vodka.

LVMH's robust performance sets high expectations for the luxury goods industry. "It's somewhat of a paradox to say that 2011 was a year of global prosperity, but we are lucky to export most of our products," Arnault said. The company’s latest figures show that the European debt crisis hasn't triggered a slowdown in the US. In the fourth quarter, sales in Europe rose 3%, but the strongest growth came from the US and Asia, excluding Japan.

Arnault doesn't see an end to LVMH's good fortune. "Barring a major accident and despite the difficulties in Europe, the world economy is growing and the world wants more and more of our products," he said. The company’s fashion division, which includes brands such as Louis Vuitton, Bulgari and Dior, also showed strong growth.

Dom Pérignon 2003 launched in five cities

Last week, as reported on thedrinksbusiness.com, Champagne giant Dom Pérignon hosted five simultaneous international events in London, Hong Kong, Paris, New York and Tokyo, to launch its 2003 vintage – a controversial release due to the extreme heat of the year. With each event linked by satellite, chef de cave Richard Geoffroy introduced the wine Star Wars-style via hologram, appearing as an electric blue spectral figure and answering questions on the vintage from the five cities in turn.

“Everyone was expecting a very powerful, sun-filled and rapidly maturing wine – a real challenge for the creation of Dom Pérignon,” Geoffroy told us. “It was a risk, which may be rewarded now. It’s at the heart of the house’s values – we’re committed to vintage Champagne. My wish is for Dom Pérignon 2003 to remain one of the greatest examples of the vintage in the history of Champagne.”

Guests in London gathered at the über swish Phillips de Pury auction house in St James’s, where black-and-white stills of the Dom Pérignon vineyards in Hautvilliers were projected onto the whitewashed walls, along with an up-to-the-second Twitter feed from invitees across the five cities. In between sips of the freshly released ’03, we were treated to whipped truffled egg, caviar on beetroot jelly, and seared foie gras.

The 2003 vintage left an indelible mark on the region. After a cold, harsh winter, the initial warmth of spring proved deceptive. On 11 April a severe frost destroyed up to 75% of the Côte des Blancs Chardonnay crop. The unseasonal spring was followed by a heat wave as the region experienced its hottest summer for 53 years, resulting in the earliest Champagne harvest since 1822.

Undeterred, Geoffroy embraced the challenge: “At no moment in time was there any question of giving up. Instead, we seized the opportunity to create the 2003 vintage,” he said, adding, “Intensity is the signature 2003. It’s unique and paradoxical, hovering between austerity and generosity. It has tremendous ageing potential, but is also very enjoyable now as it’s so expressive.” Commenting on the 2011 vintage, Geoffroy was less upbeat: “2011 was less spectacular than 2003, it will be hard to predict how it will mature.” Dom Pérignon 2003 will be available in the UK from February 2012 with an RRP of £120.

Video: Frédéric Castéja, Château Batailley

Wine and the City talks to Frédéric Castéja of Bordeaux fifth growth Château Batailley at the Bibendum EC1 pop-up tasting about the 2009 En Primeur campaign, his first impressions of the 2010 vintage, escalating wine prices, and the impact of the Asian market.