-> www.armanddebrignac.com
-> www.prohiphop.com
Armand de Brignac
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Armand de Brignac is the name of a Champagne brand produced by Champagne Cattier, and sold in opaque metallic bottles. The brand's first bottling, Armand de Brignac Brut Gold, is identifiable by its distinctive gold bottle with pewter Ace of Spades labels. The brand is owned by New York City-based Sovereign Brands in partnership with Cattier, and was introduced in late 2006.
The Armand de Brignac Brut Gold composition is 33% each of Champagne's grape varietals (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier). The Champagne's production and wine selection is overseen by Champagne Cattier.
Armand de Brignac bottlings are marketed as flagship cuvées in selected markets. To date, they are produced in a multi-vintage style as opposed to the vintage flagship bottlings from most larger Champagne estates. A Rosé was also produced, and a Blanc de Blancs appears scheduled for later release.
The original de Brignac name was registered by the Cattier family (who produces the Champagne) in "the late 1940s or early 50s", according to Jean-Jacques Cattier. It was chosen at that time by his mother, who had been reading a novel featuring a character named de Brignac. In naming the new Champagne, Cattier states those involved "came up with Armand, it sounded kind of noble."
Jay-Z Video AppearanceMuch of the popular discussion surrounding this Champagne was spurred by a high-profile appearance in a music video by American hip hop artist Jay-Z.[7] In the aftermath of the Louis Roederer Cristal hip-hop controversy, in which a perceived racial slight by Louis Roederer's Frederic Rouzaud led Jay-Z to vocally boycott the company's flagship Champagne, Armand de Brignac Brut Gold was referenced (as "Ace of Spades") in Jay-Z's Show Me What You Got:
"H-O-V-A, gold bottles of that Ace of Spades"
In the video, a bottle of the champagne is presented to Jay-Z during the climactic moment of a game of poker, after he is seen waving away a bottle of Cristal.
It is not widely understood how the product came to be featured so prominently in the video.[10] Brett Berish, president of American importer Sovereign Brands, denied the product had been placed, stating that while Jay-Z had no official involvement, he “... is exactly who we would have liked as a partner on this. Everyone already identifies him with luxury brands, and given his boycotting Cristal earlier, it works extremely well ... but it’s not like we just cooked this brand up to capitalize on that.” The Wall Street Journal, however, quotes Jean-Jacques Cattier as saying his U.S. partners told him that they "had connections in the rap world" that would help launch the product in the U.S.
In October 2007, Jay-Z released a video for the song Blue Magic (from the American Gangster LP), which again featured the brand's distinctive bottles. The music video for the record's second single Roc Boys also prominently features the bottles.
ReactionThe music video appearances and launch of the Armand de Brignac brand sparked a flurry of discussion on sites covering hip-hop and popular culture.
One item discussed, an October 2006 Sovereign Brands press release, stated that "The brand is making its North American debut this year, after enjoying success as a premium, high-end brand in France"; the product as it is currently known did not previously exist, however, and Cattier has confirmed that the Armand name is a recent creation. Marketing from Sovereign Brands has been ambiguous, claiming "Cattier’s gold bottle also made an appearance at Queen Elizabeth II of England's Golden Jubilee celebration" without explicitly identifying the bottling in question as Armand de Brignac.
The Wall Street Journal states that the new cuvée "doesn't taste radically different" from another Cattier bottling, the Cattier Clos de Moulin, according to Jean-Jacques Cattier. Tasting notes for Armand de Brignac appeared in the Las Vegas Review-Journal in wine & spirit columnist Gil Lempert-Schwarz's column on Dec 19, 2007. Schwarz described the Champagne as "softly tingly and pleasing with a great amount of length and a nice lemon zesty finish that lingers."
In December 2007, the Los Angeles Times reported that bottles of Armand de Brignac had "turned up in Academy Award nominee gift bags."
Other References in Hip HopA bottle of Armand de Brignac also makes cameo appearances in the videos for Fabolous's songs Make Me Better and Baby Don't Go, although the brand is not mentioned in either of the songs' lyrics. Another '07 video, Beanie Sigel's "All the Above (feat. R. Kelly)" also includes "Ace of Spades" in the video and lyrics.
