Astonishing history is that of the Armand de Brignac brand, born in the middle of the last century, then gradually fell into disuse before being brought up to date by the will of an American rapper likely, then to become the best champagne of the world !
And yes, all this might not have happened if Jay-Z in 2006 had not taken offense to an interview with Frédéric Rouzeau, the boss of champagnes Louis Roederer who explained in substance that he preferred his champagnes to be bus rather than pouring on the bodies of lascivious young girls in the clips of certain rappers, and in particular those of Jay-Z. Beyoncé's mate's blood only trickled, and annoyed that he was the man decided to create his own brand of champagne so that he could sprinkle whoever he wanted in his music videos.
He then teamed up with the champagne house Cattier, based in Chigny-les-Roses, in the mountain of Reims, to bring the sleeping beauty up to date: the Armand de Brignac brand. And rather than gently dusting off the brand, it was a real revolution that was made to imagine something completely new. It starts with the bottle. An opaque glass bottle, totally gilded, and marked with the famous Ace of Spades, symbol of rapper Jay-Z. The bottle was originally designed for the fashion house André Courrèges, which ultimately dropped its champagne project. The bottle contrasts with Champagne standards, but is particularly delicate to handle, requiring manual bottling, because the smallest drop of champagne must not fall on the golden casing at the risk of damaging it. The bottle of Armand de Brignac is then delicately protected in a lacquered wooden box.
Champagne Prestige
Resolutely top-of-the-range, this is a champagne sold for double the price of references of the genre: Dom Pérignon and Cristal Roederer. There was success and the range was expanded in 2008 with the arrival of a rosé champagne and a blanc de blancs champagne. The birth of a new brand of champagne, especially in the prestige champagne niche, has never been seen very favorably in Champagne, and bad tongues have often scorned this cuvée. But if the commercial success had already silenced some of the critics, the designation by Fine Champagne magazine, the international benchmark review, of Brut Gold Armand de Brignac champagne as the best champagne in the world has nailed the beak to all the others. This champagne came out on top with an incredible 96 points out of a possible maximum of 100, and this against 999 other vintages, all tasted blind by a committee of specialists (sommeliers, journalists, oenologists, etc.). It preceded the Dom Pérignon Vintage 2002 and the Cuvée R Lalou de Mumm.
Marriage of three harvests
The blend of Brut Gold Armand de Brignac is quite original, since the Cattier house has chosen not to bet on a vintage champagne, but on the contrary to combine 3 different harvests in order to obtain a wine with complex, fleshy and aromas. evolved, and regular style. The three Champagne grape varieties (pinot noir, pinot meunier, chardonnay) are part of the composition of this cuvée, each bringing its own touch and style to the Brut Gold Armand de Brignac cuvée. This gives a champagne with a lively, floral and fresh nose, which evolves after a few seconds towards more toasted, more brioche and more gourmet notes. On the palate, this is a wine with a frank attack, then showing its roundness and complexity. A complexity carried by a winey touch, a mineral structure and a creamy mouthfeel. A champagne of remarkable length, tailored to accompany a cocktail, such as a gourmet meal. Brut Gold Armand de Brignac is more and more present on starred tables.
