Collet Brut Champagne - 750ml

Product Information

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. 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, it’s not that simple. While it is likely that COGEVI will continue to supply Alliance’s needs for its brands, should it choose not to do this, Alliance would lose access to some prime vineyards in the Montagne de Reims and the Côte de Blancs. This champagne of character, true identity of the Maison Collet harmoniously combines the three grape varieties Champagne: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. 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).

Champagne Gosset, Grande Reserve

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.

As db has been assured, this separation will have no immediate effect on Alliance Champagne, which has, as its flagship brand, Jacquart, as well as a further label, Montaudon – which tends to be used for selling large volumes of fizz in the major multiple retailers. 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. These come under the acronyms COVAMA, COGEVI and UAPVC, and you can read about the history of the Alliance leviathan below, including the Champagnes produced by the group and its component cooperatives. Together, Jacquart and Montaudon account for around 5m bottles in annual sales for Alliance, or one fifth of the group’s output – it produces 25m bottles each year. 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.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. 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. An excellent wine from Lanson. Mid-gold colour. The nose is intense and complex, with raspberry, green apple and some biscuity notes. On the palate it is long and creamy, with bright fruit and subtle hints of more developed, savoury notes. It has a beautiful, slightly chalky texture, a powerful mousse, and a long, creamy, and beautifully integrated finish. Delicious! (Siobhan Turner MW) Champagne de Venoge, Cordon Bleu Brut NV