Armand de Brignac: The craft behind the bling
The father-and-son winemakers behind Jay Z's 'Ace of Spades' champagne discuss their new 100 per cent pinot noir assemblage
Jean-Jacques Cattier: Our family has owned vineyards in this area, the Montagne de Reims, since 1763 – I am the tenth generation of winemakers and my son Alexandre is the 11th. In the early days, most of the grapes were sold to the negotiant in Reims but in 1918, we began making our own champagne commercially. Now we are one of the last ten family-owned champagne houses selling more than a million bottles a year. Our range of prestige cuvees, Armand de Brignac, which we launched in 2006, accounts for a tenth of that.
Alexandre Cattier: We own 82 acres in this premier cru terroir, which is known for its pinot noir grapes, but we also grow chardonnay and pinot meunier, as well as buying grand cru grapes for certain assemblages.
Jean-Jacques: When Jay Z acquired the Armand de Brignac brand in 2014, we met in New York. He said his priority is for it to be recognised as the best champagne worldwide, so he is prepared to invest – for example, in the best grapes – as long as it is always to push the quality still higher.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Alexandre: Everything we do is designed to ensure that quality. When you press grapes for champagne, the first and best juice is called "la cuvee" and then comes "la taille", which has lower acidity and less subtle aromas, but more tannins. For Armand de Brignac, not only do we only use la cuvee, we take only the first four-fifths of it – the best part.
Jean-Jacques: We press four tons of grapes at once and the process takes four hours. From that, we obtain 550 gallons of juice, of which we use just the first 400 gallons. You can't go too quickly – you could certainly use more pressure and get the job done in half the time, but you won't obtain the quality of juice, because "la taille" will mix with "la cuvee".
Alexandre: When we bottled our first Blanc de Noirs assemblage in 2009, we did it as an experiment to see if we could make a 100 per cent pinot noir that was good enough. If it hadn't been, we'd simply have drunk it ourselves. Fortunately, it turned out even better than we'd hoped. We released it in the autumn of 2015 and it is already nearly sold out – especially since it was ranked the number one Blanc de Noirs of the 250 tasted by Fine Champagne magazine.
The pinot noir in this wine has very complex structure, a really long finish. You get red fruits throughout, of course, but with a lot more going on besides. There is peach and apricot on the nose, followed by crystallised citrus, orange blossom and brioche. The powerful palate reveals red fruit with hints of cinnamon toast.
We decided to make a second assemblage after the 2010 vintage, which we blended with the 2008 and 2009. It wasn't a great year overall – so-so for chardonnay and pinot meunier – but the pinot noir of the Montagne de Reims was exceptional. It had herbal notes, with hints of hay and mint, which is a great addition to the characteristics of the first assemblage that remain.
Jean-Jacques: We've disgorged [removed the sediment after fermentation] only 2,333 bottles of the Blanc de Noirs Assemblage Two. It's currently very fresh, with lots of minerality and we have the feeling its development is just at the beginning and it could flourish and intensify with even further cellaring – potentially 15 years or more.
JEAN-JACQUES & ALEXANDRE CATTIER are chef de cave and chief winemaker respectively of Cattier and Armand de Brignac champagnes. Both qualified as oenologists at the Universite de Reims Champagne-Ardenne. Jean-Jacques also earned a Master of Science degree and spent a year studying nocturnal luminescence on the French Antarctic island of Kerguelen, while Alexandre opted for Australian wineries for his post-graduation studies.
Champagne Armand de Brignac Blanc de Noirs Assemblage Two is available from Berry Bros & Rudd, priced £550, at bbr.com. The Brut Gold is £250, at armanddebrignac.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'Make legal immigration a more plausible option'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
LA-to-Las Vegas high-speed rail line breaks ground
Speed Read The railway will be ready as soon as 2028
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Israel's military intelligence chief resigns
Speed Read Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva is the first leader to quit for failing to prevent the Hamas attack in October
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Take a Champagne-drinking tour across the globe
The Week Recommends Pop off at one of these seven Champagne-centric bars
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
Best English wines
The Week Recommends Celebrate a homegrown success story with our pick of the best still and sparkling wines
By Adrienne Wyper Published
-
The Week's 2023 holiday gift guide
The Week Recommends You'll want to check this list twice
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
Guide to Temecula Valley, California
The Week Recommends Temecula Valley offers a feast for the senses with dozens of wineries to visit and menus to explore
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
Ca’ del Bosco: a winery with traditional values and vivacious design
Under the Radar Italian brand is adding extra sparkle to the international wine scene
By Kaye O'Doherty Published
-
Is there a safe level of alcohol consumption?
feature Some studies point to potential health benefits but most experts agree that even moderate drinking has risks
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
COMO Castello del Nero hotel review: a true taste of Tuscany
The Week Recommends The 12th-century property is in the heart of the Chianti region – with a wine list to match
By Naomi Larsson Published
-
Six of the best wines for the Christmas table
The Week Recommends Wine columnist Matthew Jukes presents the top festive tipples
By Matthew Jukes Published