Moët Hennessy launches drinks retailer Clos19

Moët Hennessy, the drinks arm of luxury good giant LVMH, has launched an online shop called Clos19 selling the Champagnes, wines and spirits in its portfolio.

Run by Stephanie Watine-Arnault, the 33-year-old niece of LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault, Clos19 is “dedicated to the art of hosting”, and aims to assist its customers in everything from wedding wines and last minute gifts to what to take to a dinner party.

The name is inspired by the concept of the walled vineyard in Champagne, or ‘clos’, and the democratisation of Champagne in the 19^th century, hence the ‘19’.

Hoping to shake up the UK drinks market, among the wine brands on sale will be Krug, Dom Pérignon, Ruinart, Veuve Clicquot, Moët & Chandon, Cloudy Bay and Château d’Yquem.

Holding up the spirits side will be Belvedere Vodka, Hennessy Cognac, Islay single malt Ardbeg and Glenmorangie, a single malt Scotch from Tain in Ross-Shire.

Prices range from £13 all the way up to £8,500 for a Methuselah of Dom Pérignon Rosé 2002. All of the wines on the site can be delivered to a UK address within 24 hours.

Also on offer are wine accessories, decanters, ice buckets, Krug Riedel glasses and bespoke experiences like wine tastings in Antarctica and tours of LVMH’s Champagne houses.

If you’ve got a spare £70,000 lying around you can sign up for an eight-day trip to Newfoundland to visit the site of the Titanic shipwreck that lies off the coast of the Canadian island.

The site is full of useful drinks hacks like how to choose the right glass for your wine and how to mix the perfect whisky sour, and includes a glossy digital magazine called Journal19.

Watine-Arnault is keen to build a digital community of regular customers and plans to roll out the Clos19 brand in Germany but not, as yet, to France. The goal is for Clos19 to account for 4% of Moët Hennessy’s UK sales by 2022.

The site will also add a service before the end of the year offering the expertise of mixologists and barmen at London-based events.

There are 70 brands in the LVMH portfolio, which takes in clothes, drinks, perfume, cosmetics and jewellery. The company made €37.6 billion in revenue last year.

The online drinks market is rapidly expanding in Britain, with the UK now leading the European market in online alcohol sales according to Nielsen.