Champagne Collery’s new cross channel collaboration

Champagne Collery’s new distribution deal with Republic Drinks seeks to break into the highly competitive UK market.

Established only this year by friends Sambrooke Spurrier, Charlotte Sawford and Charlie Graham, Republic Drinks has hit the ground running through its deal with historic producer Champagne Collery.

Outlining the house’s draw for this new entrant into the UK drinks industry, Spurrier explains that throughout a series of blind tastings against 18 other Champagnes, Collery’s wines were consistently number one: “They came out ahead by a country mile – our philosophy is that the liquid has to be right first, and then we build the business,” he says.

Collery specialises in grand cru Champagnes from Pinot Noir centre Aÿ, near Epernay. The house’s director Romain Levecque says that he was “confident of the quality” of the wines before they were tasted by the Republic Drinks team, explaining: “It is a style people will appreciate whether they’re familiar with Champagne or whether they’re not – working with grapes from a grand cru vineyard means that the wine is intrinsically good from the start.”

“From how the grapes are sourced to its relationship with growers, it is clear that Collery is not just about filling a space, but about pushing boundaries,” argues Spurrier. “Scratching below the surface of the winemaking, you find Collery’s use of ex-Burgundy casks for maturation, and its experiments with dosage – each cuvée is made according to specific reasons, it isn’t just a tick-box exercise. Collery may not be recognised by customers yet, but people do acknowledge grand cru as a mark of quality.”

The UK market is certainly a competitive one for Champagne – around 25.2 million bottles were shipped across the Channel last year, a decline on the 27.7m bottles exported in 2022 – such volumes make it a tough nut to crack, especially for smaller producers.

Levecque says: “The UK market was not initially a priority for us because it is so crowded, but we have found a proper partner in Republic Drinks – the energy the team shows, the global nature of its portfolio – they complement us well.”

As “crowded” as the UK market may be, the Republic Drinks team is confident that Champagne Collery can, thanks to the quality of the wines, find its niche.

Sawford reveals that the initial focus for Republic Drinks’ efforts with Collery will be on restaurants. “We believe that brands are built in the on-trade – if we were to go into the off-trade, we would be looking at more premium retailers and independent wine shops,” she explains.

“A lot of wine consumers stay in their lane in the UK market,” adds Graham, “but there is a huge amount bubbling beneath the surface. People have started to look for other things, so it is a good time to bring new Champagnes into the UK market.”

This opportunity also presents strong potential for brand marketing activations for Champagne Collery, but Levecque insists that those won’t be taking place just yet: “Brand installation is a process – we have to bring the wine to the right spot before engaging. For 2024, the priority is making our Champagnes available in the UK.”