Armand de Brignac launches its most expensive Champagne ever

Jay-Z’s Champagne brand Armand de Brignac has launched its most expensive fizz ever: a Blanc de Noirs.

Left to right: Armand de Brignac’s Blanc de Noirs, Brut Gold, Blanc de Blancs, and Demi-Sec

Although it’s recommended retail price has yet to be confirmed, the new Champagne – which is made from purely Pinot Noir grapes – will sell for around £600-700 in the UK according to Armand de Brignac CEO Sebastien Besson, making it 50% pricier than the brand’s current costliest label, the rosé, which sells for around £300.

Besson told db yesterday, where he officially unveiled the Blanc de Noirs, that the high price of the Champagne was due to the limited quantities produced: less than 3,000 bottles have been released.

However, the new Champagne – which comes packaged in a pewter bottle – isn’t the region’s most expensive Blanc de Noirs. It may be a touch pricier than Bollinger’s Blanc De Noirs Vieilles Vignes Francaises (which sells for around £500) but it’s cheaper than Krug’s Clos d’Ambonnay, a pure Pinot Noir Champagne which costs £2,000.

Armand de Brignac, which was bought outright by Jay-Z from Sovereign Brands in October last year, has also commercialised a Demi-Sec Champagne with 34g/l of sugar – more than triple the content of the Brut Gold, which has 11g/l.

Around 5,500 bottles of the Demi-Sec will be released in September this year at “a slight price premium” to the brand’s Brut Gold according to Besson.

When asked about future additions to the range of Champagnes, which are made by Cattier, such as a proposed single vineyard 100% Pinot Meunier expression from Cattier’s Clos Yons, Besson said that “lots could be done”.

“We could do a single vineyard, vintage wines, other blends, or a zero dosage, and I’ve told the winemakers to select wines and keep them to one side if they believe that something special can be done – we are segregating wines to see if we can make something exceptional,” he said.

He also told db that the brand was looking to increase Armand de Brignac’s credibility among wine professionals, and not rely on its associations with Jay-Z, an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur worth US$520m, according to Forbes.

“We are defining a new way to define the brand as a true luxury item, and not something that is celebrity endorsed,” he said.