Collet Brut Champagne - 750ml

Product Information

Jacquart & Associés Distribution (JAD) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alliance Champagne which was set up by the three remaining co-ops both to handle the distribution and marketing of the Jacquart brand, wine made under the Champagne Ritz licence and all the BoB production for COVAMA, COGEVI and Union Auboise. Indeed, the leaving-party represents 800 growers spread across 810 planted hectares, including some prized premier and grand cru plots, with vineyards and facilities capable of producing around six million bottles. This champagne of character, true identity of the Maison Collet harmoniously combines the three grape varieties Champagne: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.

This means that COGEVI, due to the split, could lose a customer in Alliance Champagne at a time when it might be seeing sliding sales of wine and Champagne to other parties, such as supermarkets, as well as seeing a falling demand for grapes from the négociants.And finally, exacerbating the situation is something that’s become a more recent issue for the region, and particularly the cooperatives, and that is a shift from a shortage of grapes, to, potentially, an oversupply, as annual production in recent harvests has exceeded current demand. Despite the quality of its vineyard holdings in Champagne, and the good standard of COGEVI’s output under the Collet brand, this particular part of the group has run into financial troubles, and it is believed that it has requested a bailout from the Alliance Champagne board. About 100 years ago a group of wine-growers in Épernay launched a new Champagne brand in honour of French 1 st World War general, General Curières de Castelnau. Nowadays based in Reims and with a vineyard holding in the Champagne region of over 900ha, the wines of Champagne Castelnau are a long-lasting tribute. Aged on the lees for 7 years, this Extra Brut shows a lovely balance of freshness and maturity. Mid-gold in hue with small bubbles and a well-defined cordon, the nose shows ripe red and yellow plums and red apples with buttered toast and orange zest accents. Very dry in style, the wine has medium body, lively acidity and very good texture with layers of flavours and excellent length of flavour. A delight to consider drinking with rich seafood dishes, or roasted quail or pheasant in light red wine sauce. (Patricia Stefanowicz MW) Read more As for the part of this group that’s leaving the mothership, that’s the Coopérative Générale des Vignerons de la Champagne Délimitée (COGEVI), which, like most cooperatives, sells grapes, wines and bottled Champagne, as well as producing its own brand, which in this case, is called Champagne Collet. So why have these senior figures left COGEVI? While this is speculation, it appears that COGEVI may have spent too much money, with db sources citing a number of major investments, with a couple of capital-intensive ones mentioned in particular.

But there’s a bigger problem for Champagne makers, whether they are growers who bottle under their own label, cooperatives who make their own brands, or houses who buy grapes to produce globally distributed marques. These are the construction of a new, large production centre in Oger and an impressive wine museum in Aÿ, called ‘La Cité du Champagne’, which are in addition to what is reputed to have been extensive spending on marketing its Collet brand, which totals around 500,000 bottles in annual sales, less than 10% of the cooperative’s 6m bottle output. However, one insider has made it clear that the reason for the break up is connected with past over-spending, rather than any issue with incomes during the present downturn in Champagne consumption. Furthermore, the primary sector of decline in Champagne has been among less well-known brands, including those closely tied to the declining French market, as well as those classified as supermarket own-label or exclusive brands, which, in the majority of cases, are supplied by the cooperatives. In terms of how much COGEVI has been supplying to Alliance for its branded Champagne needs, this is said to represent grapes from across around 100ha (from COGEVI’s 810ha total).On the other hand, should Covid-19 be brought under control, then consumers will have a two reasons to drink Champagne: they will be celebrating Christmas and an end to the pandemic. Inside COGEVI’s Cité du Champagne Alliance Champagne: a potted history Furthermore, producers have a contractual obligation to buy grapes at a pre-agreed price, meaning that even during our current coronavirus-affected times, producers won’t be paying a reduced fee for their grape supply. (Any reported grape price reduction tends to represent just the small amount sold on the free market). Established in 1837 in Épernay by Henri-Marc de Venoge, emigrating from his native Swiss canton Vaud, the maison adopted its emblem ‘Cordon Bleu’ in homage to the little Venoge river in Switzerland, which empties into Lake Geneva. This is a stylish wine, exhibiting a pale lemon colour and a narrow cordon with crunchy yellow and red fruits and buttered toast accents. Brut (c.6 g/l dosage), medium-bodied, the wine has bracing acidity and creamy mousse texture to support the flavours. A lingering finish suggests a poly-valent wine, suitable for the Henley Regatta or Wimbledon events with, or without, strawberries and cream, and will be equally delicious with salmon mousse napped with cucumber-cream sauce. (Patricia Stefanowicz MW) Champagne Castelnau, Extra Brut NV This BoB business is significant and JAD has become a major supplier of own label Champagne to UK supermarkets including Tesco, ASDA and Sainsbury’s. Between them the three cooperative groups that promote the Jacquart brand have 1,700 grower members who own 2,620ha of vineyards which are spread across the appellation in 130 different villages including 10 grands crus and 22 premiers crus. This area of vineyard represents just over 8% of the entire Champagne AOC. Currently about 30% of this volume is sold and marketed by Alliance Champagne, the rest by the other three individual cooperatives that formed Alliance. As noted above, cooperatives, which are owned by their grower members, have a number of income streams, from supplying grapes and wine to other houses, to bottling Champagne for their grower-members, or making a finished product for selling under their own brand – in COGEVI’s case, Collet.

Mid-lemon colour with a hint of gold. Clean and fresh on the nose with biscuity notes and bright fruit with some more developed notes. On the palate it is dry with high acid, medium body and lively lemony fruit. Noticeable oxidative notes on the finish suggest it should be drunk within the next 12 months, which will be an enjoyable task. (Siobhan Turner MW) Vieille France, Brut To explain further, Alliance Champagne comprises a triumvirate of cooperatives across the region, uniting over 1,700 grower members representing more than 2,500 hectares of vineyards, producing 25 million bottles of Champagne annually. As mentioned earlier, COGEVI only supply around 100ha worth of grapes to Alliance for its branded Champagne production, representing around 20% of COGEVI’s turnover, but, bearing in mind the current situation, sources suggest that COGEVI don’t want to lose Alliance as a customer – and hence the likelihood that COGEVI will remain a supplier to Alliance. After all, as much as 60% of Champagne’s annual business is done in the last three months of the year. With the heads of the group apparently deciding not to provide such assistance, it appears that COGEVI has had to withdraw from Alliance, a split that was agreed to by the parent group on 10 September, and finalised earlier this week, marking the end of a 23-year union.Earlier this month it was announced by cooperative group Alliance Champagne – which is one of Champagne’s biggest producers and landowners – that part of its three-pronged business was breaking away, taking with it around one third of the group’s combined vineyard holding and therefore potential grape supply. What about the situation when viewed from Alliance’s perspective? Well, while COGEVI’s withdrawal represents a potential loss of 30% of the Alliance supply base, as it has been said to db, if Champagne volume sales are down by 20% in 2020, then the amount needed to make up for COGEVI’s departure is not so great at just 10% in volume terms. Indeed, the change is really at the top – COGEVI directors will no longer be involved at board level at Alliance. So, in effect, the development means that COGEVI has moved from being an Alliance shareholder to becoming a preferred supplier.