21 October, 2001

Golden ace of Armand

Neither Krug nor Dom won themselves a new customer this summer in the wake of the American hiphop artist Jay-Z's very mentioned boycott of the topchampagne of Louis Roederer, Cristal.

Instead a rather unknown champagnemaker - Armand de Brignac - based in the village Chigny-les-Roses in the Montagne de Reims, can probably look forward to increasing sales the next years, after the singer has chosen "The Ace" as his preferred fizz. In the USA anyway, which is the first place outside France where the familyfirm has now begun to market their champagne.

Kitsch or class?
The bottle itself - gilt and with a metal label in the shape of the Ace of Spades - tries to find a balance between kitsch and vulgarity. I am not convinced that they manage, but as you know, the customer is always right. Don't they know it at Louis Roederer's. Check out for yourself in Jay-Z's latest video here.

The American manager of Armand de Brignac, Brett Berish, says to the winemagazine Decanter, that he is honoured with the interest. It has probably provided him a job as well.

Cristal or "The Ace"
There has been an incredible silence around the sales - or no sales maybe - of Cristal since a few comments from the Roederer-boss provoked the boycott right before the silly season began in June.

But Cristal will probably manage just fine even without being bought by Jay-Z. Just like it survived the fall of the Russian tsars, eventually anyway.

I am not quite convinced that the taste of "The Ace" is too important when then band plays... but if someone happens to be interested in that part of the party too, they can read more about the golden bubbles in the American part of cyberspace.

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