Jay-Z’s Armand de Brignac Champagne Launches $3,400 Vintage

(Bloomberg) -- Jay-Z’s Armand de Brignac—perhaps better known as the Ace of Spades—is branching out into vintage Champagne. The premium label is debuting a Blanc de Noirs Vintage 2015 that will sell for $3,400 exclusively in 1.5 liter magnum sizes. Just 1,258 of the bottles have been made, with the price point reflecting its rarity. 

Regular size bottles of Armand de Brignac, the Champagne known for its eye-catching metallic bottles with the raised ace of spades logo prominently displayed, normally sell from upwards of $300. Its magnums are often used for celebrations; Mark Cuban bought a 15-liter bottle said to cost $140,000 after the Dallas Mavericks won the NBA championship in 2011 when he owned the team. 

This is the first time the brand has released a vintage Champagne. Armand de Brignac has historically been known as a multi-vintage house, using blends of grapes from different years. 

For its inaugural foray into vintage, collectible cuvée, the brand used bottles that had been stored in cellars for seven years. They were disgorged and corked in February.

The 2015 vintage was a notable year for the Champagne region: The spring was especially rainy and the summer hot and dry, conditions that created a healthy crop of the pinot noir grapes that make up the majority of the Blanc de Noirs blend. Armand de Brignac is known for using red grapes; this vintage uses 70% pinot noir from grand cru and premier cru vineyards including those in the village of Mailly. The other 30% is pinot meunier from Chigny les Roses, Rilly la Montagne and Ludes. 

Fellow LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE brand Dom Pérignon released its latest bottle of bubbly in August, also from the standout year of 2015, but at a much lower price point. Bloomberg’s wine critic calls the $295 bottle “proof that even with the extreme weather of climate change, great Champagne can still be made.” 

It’s not the only booze brand in Jay-Z’s family. His wife, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, joined up with Moët Hennessy to create a new American whisky called SirDavis, which hit shelves last month.

The vintage release and new product launches from the Carters come at a challenging time in the premium beverage market, however. LVMH reported a 7% decline in its wine and spirits division in its third-quarter earnings released Tuesday, below analyst expectations.

The Blanc de Noirs Vintage 2015 will be available to purchase from November. 

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