The Ace of Spades of Champagne

For the owner of the Cattier family business, Jean Jacques Cattier, the creation of a super prestigious cuvee champagne has been a challenge that he met.

Anca Ionita

Jay-Z has brought international fame to the Armand de Brignac brand produced by Champagne Cattier by using it in his music video ‘Show Me What You Got’. But among connoisseurs, the brand was already famous: in 2009, FINE Champagne Magazine ranked it first in its 1,000 champagne brands wine-tasting list.Where did the story begin?

Ten years ago, my son, our commercial director and I were thinking of creating a new product, a super prestige cuvee, that would be positioned at a higher level than Dom Perignon or Cristal, which are the two most prestigious champagnes in the world.

In terms of the design of the bottle, we thought of doing a metal coating, in gold, and to create a recognizable emblem all over the world, because the name Armand de Brignac is difficult to pronounce in other languages apart from French.

The original “de Brignac” name was registered by the Cattier family sometime in the early 50s. It was suggested by my mother, who had been reading a novel featuring a character named de Brignac, whom she fell in love with.

What is the secret to running a family business?
Vocation. The champagne-making business was started by my grandfather, who produced the first champagne under our family name, Cattier, at the end of World War I. But my family had owned vineyards near Reims since 1763, in a well known vineyard area in France, which has a Premiere and Grand Cru classification. So there is a family tradition in the champagne business. My parents didn’t oblige me to work for the company, but I considered it a vocation, and so does my son. He studied oenology at university, and right now helps me run the family business. Our company employs 35 people, out of whom eight are dedicated specifically to the Armand de Brignac brand.

How competitive is the industry?
Of course there is competition, but it is not tough. There is room for everybody, for the big name producers and for family businesses like ours as well.
The specifics of the industry bring out solidarity between the small vineyards, which provide the grapes and the buyers. One important part of the business is to find the right distributor for each and every country you want to be in. For Armand de Brignac, I have to say, since it has become so famous, distributors are looking for us, and not vice versa. We currently produce between 50,000 and 60,000 bottles per year. The blend used for de Brignac is that of a genuine Champagne, meaning Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, all grapes coming from villages rated Grand Cru and Premire Cru.

anca.ionita@business-review.ro