Moet Hennessy launches Ultimate Collection Box

Moët Hennessy has unveiled its Ultimate Collection Box, showcasing the flagship offerings of each of the wineries in its Estates and Wines portfolio.

Comprising Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon; Cloudy Bay’s Te Koko; Cheval des Andes; Newton’s The Puzzle; Numanthia’s Termanthia; and Terrazas de los Andes’ Afincado Malbec, the lavish box will be available in the UK at Harrods and www.thechampagnecompany.com with an RRP of £500.

Designed by Argentine-born Pablo Reinoso, The Ultimate Collection Box has been crafted with a focus on wood to reflect an essential part of the winemaking process, with the jewel box concept designed to enhance the feeling of luxury.

The collection was launched in London on Tuesday 7 June by Ian Morden (right), estate director at Cloudy Bay, Nicholas Audebert (centre), chief winemaker at Cheval des Andes and Manuel Louzada (left), estate director at Numanthia.

Louzada, speaking to db at the launch, spoke of how fine wine should be an intimate experience for the consumer.

“Wine has to seduce you in the nose and caress you on the palate,” he said. He then told the gathered audience that the dramatic conditions in which his Termanthia is produced contributes to lifting the wine above its rivals.

“While in the summer the region can see temperatures of around 44 degrees Celcius, given the altitude of our vineyards we get temperatures as low as -13 Celsius to -15 Celsius in the winter. They are very dramatic contrasts.

“The Termanthia comes from a vineyard that was only planted 14 years ago and has a very limited yield. The grapes are also feet-crushed, which is becoming an increasingly rare practice.”

Audebert, meanwhile, was keen to hail the impact Argentina has had on malbec, saying: “Malbec more or less disappeared from Bordeaux at more or less the same time as people started to grow it in Argentina.

“Now Argentina is regarded as the home of malbec and this wine is a pure expression of the terroir.”

Cloudy Bay’s Te Koko is, in fact, the only white wine in the collection.

Explaining his decision to submit Te Koko to the Ultimate Collection, Morden said: “Quite simply, we wanted to have a white wine in the Collection and it’s actually my personal favourite wine in the Cloudy Bay portfolio. It speaks perfectly of our life in New Zealand.”

The Ultimate Collection has been created at a time when the New World super premium sector is outperforming the total UK market.

New World wine retailing above £10 grew from 3.2% of the light wine market to 3.5% during 2010, while the £10+ share of total still light wine volume growth was 0.1% over the same period, according to Nielsen.

Alan Lodge, 09.06.2011