The pink pound

"The increase in rosé has been significant"

According to current figures, rosé is the fastest selling category in the British wine sector – which doesn’t surprise anyone from Champagne.  Sales to September this year showed a rise of 32% in sales of the pink stuff in the UK, rising from £13.5m worth of bottles shifted to £17.7m.

That compares to an increase of just 4% in total Champagne sales across the UK and 4% in non-vintage, and virtually zero growth in sales of vintage.  "The increase in rosé has been significant," says George Atkinson-Clark, managing director of Champagne Ruinart.

"I think it’s a combination of factors.  It reflects a more knowledgeable consumer and the growing popularity of still rosé wines in the UK.  It’s a lighter style in general, distribution has increased and I think people are taking advantage of the increased choice that is around.

"We’ve introduced a range of different sizes in our rosé range – including magnums and halfs – as well as bespoke point-of-sale items for the on-trade and offtrade. 

We’ve concentrated on pouring by the glass in the on-trade and are currently serving the rosé by the glass at the two three-star Michelin restaurants in the UK, Gordon Ramsay Hospital Road and the Waterside Inn at Bray."

It wasn’t so long ago that the market for rosé was dominated by one name – Laurent-Perrier. "We have had enormous success with the rosé," says David Hesketh, managing director of Laurent-Perrier UK.

"And with the recent upsurge in rosé sales we’ve built further on that success."  "I think it’s fair to say," comments Vincent Gillet, brand director for Mumm and Perrier-Jouët, "that Laurent-Perrier did a fantastic job of more or less cornering the market.

But I think what’s happened is that others have seen that they are more or less the only players in the market and thought there would be room for more – which there is.  I think a lot of the recent growth can fairly be attributed to the work done by Moët & Chandon who have spent a lot of time and effort promoting the vintage and non-vintage rosés.

It’s not so long ago that its rosé used to be a 4,000 to 5,000 case market and now it’s 50,000 cases.  That’s big growth and I think a lot of it is down to Moët, so we have to kind of take our hats off to them.

"But it also has to be said that rosé Champagne these days is simply very cool and fashionable.  Consumers are more willing to give it a go, and because, in general, quality has increased significantly, they’re more satisfied when they do drink it."

For Lynne Murray, marketing controller of Champagne Taittinger at agents Hatch Mansfield, the popularity of rosé has its drawbacks:  "The challenge is that current demand for rosé is outstripping supply."

A situation that is not unique these days in the Champagne market – but is certainly a welcome dilemma for those who have been flying the rosé flag for the last decade. 

The prestige cuvée market is one of the fastest growing in the UK, so it’s no surprise that the major movers in the Champagne market are taking a fresh look at how they approach this sector.

Earlier this year we saw the redesign and relaunch of Piper-Heidsieck’s Cuvée Rare, and increased marketing spend behind the likes of Dom Pérignon, La Grande Dame and other notable players.

So it’s no surprise that two of the biggest names in Champagne have decided to have a major rethink about their packaging and presentation in this lucrative market segment.

Those two are Bollinger and Krug.  Traditionally Bollinger’s La Grande Année has always sat in the vintage market, but last year the company decided that it would be better to reposition it in the prestige cuvée arena.

As Ghislaine de Montgolfier put it at the time, "It’s really always been a prestige cuvée, it’s just that it’s not been priced as such. Indeed, we feel it’s been very much underpriced."

The result is that over the past year the price has risen from £45 to £55 – with many retailers actually selling it for £60. With most of Bollinger’s stocks on allocation, selling it at that price has not seemed to be an issue.

 "We have seen positive sales growth this year," says Jonathan Stevens, marketing manager for Bollinger at agents Mentzendorff.  "And feedback from both clients and endcustomers has been very positive indeed.

There doesn’t seem to have been an adverse reaction to the rise in price.  I think a lot of people feel it was always in that bracket anyway."  However, with the new price, also came the realisation that the design needed to be spruced up a little to give it a presentation that befits a prestige cuvée proper.

The result is a reduced front label, the disgorgement date of the wine is stated on the back label, a reworked foil, and, most important of all, a new giftbox.  The latter is a striking transparent polycarbonate box. "It allows nothing but the Champagne to catch your eye," says Ghislaine de Montgolfier.

"The wine is a jewel and the case reflects that." At Krug, the redesign is more radical. Gone is the old-fashioned burgundycoloured label, and in it’s place a yellow/gold label, retaining the classic Krug type, but presented in a clean, modern reference frame.

"We felt that, given the direction of Krug, the design and presentation was somewhat dated," says Mark Cornell, Krug’s managing director. "We want to broaden the appeal of Krug, so we felt it needed to be updated, and moved on in style terms.

The classic bottle shape is still there, as is the Krug script, but there’s a fresher, cleaner feel to it, and we believe the new design has much more impact and stand-out."  It certainly looks a lot fresher.

But are the purists somewhat phased? "I don’t think so," says Cornell.  "Most reactions have been pretty positive.  I think even the most die-hard Krug fan likes to feel they’re not entirely buried in the past."