No shortage of champagne says Moet Hennessy boss
President and chief executive of Moet Hennessy Philippe Schaus, says there is shortage of bubbly despite heavy consumption and supply restrictions during the holiday period.
“We have seen especially post Covid a resurrection of pleasure,” the Paris-based head of the wines and spirits division of LVMH said.
Schaus has headed the wines and spirits division since 2017.
“There’s not a long-term champagne shortage, just an excess of demand … and that’s where we had to restrict and make contingents to be able to fairly distribute bottles around the world.”
320 million bottles of champagne are shipped from the Champagne region of France annually. This is split between the world’s co-operatives and growers: Australia is considered the sixth largest market for the beverage – one of the biggest in the world.
LVH brands include Armand de Brignac, Dom Perignon, Krug, Ruinart, Veuve Clicquot and Moet & Chandon.
“The beauty of champagne is that it is qualitative and limited. In a very good year it could be 350 (million) and in a terrible year it could be 280. We can only have as many bottles as the land gives us. And if you look at all of Champagne, the quantity of bottles coming out of Champagne has been stable for the past 30 to 50 years.”
“They are curious, they want to experience different vintages, types and brands. And yes, it is moving more up-market.”
Moet & Chandon is the current Australian market leader, followed by Veuve Clicquot behind it.
Moet & Chandon has been poured into glasses for 280 years.
Both drinks are regularly served at some of Australia’s biggest events, including pop up hotel, Hotel Clicquot, which popped up in the Byron Bay hinterland in late 2021 and in Noosa last year.
Hotel Clicquot was unique to Australia and the first time we did that,” Schaus told The Australian.
“Activations build a profile for that brand and give it a deeper personality. In the long term, that’s what makes the brand what it is. Today, I am putting into cellars spirits that will only be consumed in one hundred years. Our mission is that in one hundred years, people are still going to consume wonderful champagnes and cognacs, and our whiskeys. So really, we are more long term, than short term driven.”
LVMH is not shy to sell off assets either.
In January it sold its Margaret River winery to Endeavour Group.
“The reason for doing this is because we have been investing a lot in wines: we have acquired Chateau du Galoupet, Chateau d’Esclans and Joseph Phelps. They are all very large properties, they are scalable properties, they are high-end wines with distributors around the world,” Schaus told The Australian.
“So, we are putting more and more effort in having wines that resemble our champagnes in terms of being global brands of a certain scale and expandable. And we didn’t see that journey for Cape Mentelle, we saw it more as a local wine of a very high quality, so it didn’t fit our portfolio anymore and felt others would do a better job.”
Jonathan Jackson - 16-2-23
