And what a month this has been. Busy, busy and busy. Captain’s Log reveals nothing dull and not all that sober for us.
Personalised champagne via Parklane online remains popular with growing daily customer numbers (everyone happy so far this month). This despite Google telling us that monthly searches for “personalised champagne” have fallen by 75% since July!
Loads of delicious enquiries from businesses, charities and individuals for possibly the perfect quantity of personalised champagne: 36 to 120 bottles. How pleased we are to offer advice and be able to help and thank you to everyone for thinking of us – and for buying from us. Do keep those enquiries coming!
Very interesting corporate business to attend to, sprinkled with delivering some challenging solutions and improve what has gone before. I am always thrilled when we are invited to tender for any business but all the more so when the recipient takes a deep and enquiring interest in our response, investigating what and why we have proposed; makes the hard work and research seem rewarded. Our service ethos and attention to detail rearing its head again methinks…
Marathon tour of Champagne (and a bit of Burgundy) just completed – the not so sober bit! 2009 still wines from harvest were amazing – separate note coming – but the skill of the blender to merge all these into one non-vintage cuvee for drinking in 3+ years time still has me in awe. Universally in Champagne, 2009 is being regarded as an exceptional year.
To my unsophisticated taste, what struck me about the still wines compared to my memory of previous years was their approachability; yes there is that crisp acid tingle over the inner cheeks, but this year it was much more swallow than spit for each cru tasted. The higher than average natural sugar levels (about 200g/l as opposed to 175g/l in a normal harvest Nomine confirmed to me) mellow the experience and then there are enormous surges of fruit. And this is just from memory… I am sure at the time it was even more compelling, although my seven year old daughter did complain that all the wine tastings took “a very long time Daddy”!
Appropriate as well to touch on the dreaded recession - we feel it here (UK) and we feel it there (France); I am not qualified to say if we feel it everywhere but we are told the UK is still in economic contraction while key European economies and the US are now growing.
From the Champenois perspective, the UK has either become more fickle or is in deep trouble; yes champagne sales are down to all major export markets with the resultant consequences (according to both small recoltants and massive houses) but to the European and Asian markets this is down “a bit” – maybe up to 10%. To the UK, which is by far the largest export market at +/-37m bottles in 2008, shipments are down a minimum of 25% and for some of the most prestigious and better known brands, well over 50% behind last year. And that from the Country where unleaded petrol is typically €1.40 a litre – virtually £1.40 according to my card statement!
But I do think we can finally see some compact but sturdy economic green shoots for our industry. At 18 months they have been a long time coming - about the same time as the Camellia Fanny I planted has taken to muster a first flower this autumn – and there is still a long way to go. Still, somewhat encouraging to think (rather than relying on being told that the “public thinks”) things are recovering – even if we are in a very rarefied business. And this before the rose-tinted specs of the festive season.
Maybe the exceptional harvest this year was an omen; 1945 was also an exceptional year…
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