2014 Belle Epoque - The Third Most Popular 2014 Prestige Champagne

Perrier-Jouet: A Champagne House With An Artistic Approach

Rose Adélaïde was raised in a Norman merchant family with a keen interest in art and culture. In 1810 she married Pierre-Nicolas Perrier, a botanist and wine grower. Art and botany brought them together, so it was only natural that they founded the Maison Perrier-Jouët Champagne House in 1811, driven by a vision to create a Champagne house unlike any other.

It was their desire that nature and creativity should be the two fundamental pillars of their values, and to this day those are the two pillars on which the house still stands firmly. If you are not familiar with the two pillars of the house, you only have to take a brief glance at Perrier-Jouet's prestige cuvée Belle Epoque to realise that art is ever-present.

Between 1840 and 1870, the couple built their large vineyards on the coveted crus: Aÿ, Mailly, Avize and Cramant. Perrier-Jouet wanted the best conditions for their Champagnes - and that is what they got.

Belle Epoque is the result of the couple's quest for perfection, and its exterior was meant to reflect its interior. The iconic bottle is beautifully decorated with decadent Japanese anemones and the first cuvée was the 1964 vintage. The look of the bottle was created with great inspiration from a bottle found in the back rooms of the Champagne House, which was decorated in 1902 by glass artist Emilie Galle - one of the most important figures of the French Art Noveau art movement.

Ownership: Belle Epoque - The Heavyweight Of The Portfolio

Perrier-Jouet is today owned by French spirits giant Pernod Ricard - the world's second largest spirits producer by volume, second only to Diageo. Moreover, since 2003, Pernod Ricard's turnover has increased by 151.2% to USD 11.2 billion in 2022.

Pernod Ricard has a broad portfolio of brands such as Havana Club, Absolut Vodka, Kahlua, Champagne Mumm, Malibu, The Glenlivet, Ballantine's and Chivas Regal, all of which contribute to the company's strong market share. Pernod Richard has also created a category of "strategic International brands", which represent the company's "heavy weights" because the products account for the highest share of the global business and have the greatest potential. In this category are Pernod Ricard's top priorities worldwide.

One of these heavyweights is, of course, Pierre-Jouet. And that means the Champagne house is at the top of the giant's list of priorities. After all, Pernod Ricard is accountable to its investors. If you want to increase the profitability of a prestige brand, you have to increase the price. Increasing the production of Champagne, on the other hand, would compromise the quality of the Champagne.

2014 Belle Epoque - Back To Square One

The 2014 Belle Epoque was released in late summer 2022, and in the time that followed we saw trade prices as high as €170*. In February, Liv-ex reported that the 2014 Belle Epoque had seen a 14.2% drop in price, which is perfectly in line with the €125 you can get the 2014 Belle Epoque for here - a price very close to the release price - and there is investment potential in that.

This means that you have the opportunity to get a prestige cuvée at a favorable price, which for a while is back to square one. And if the price were to stay there, it would be the first time - the price of Belle Epoque's predecessors has not.

* Price per bottle, ex duty, tax and VAT, in whole cases and perfect condition

See the previous Belle Epoque investment tips here. (Please note that some of the previous investment tips are only available in Danish. These can be found here.)

Add to this the fact that over the last five years, the last 10 vintages* of Belle Epoque that have been on the market for at least five years have returned 47.1% according to Liv-ex, giving an average annual return of 8%. So, both internally and externally, Belle Epoque has delivered consistent returns, and with a starting price of €125**, cheaper prestige Champagne is almost impossible to find and an upward adjustment in price seems unavoidable - especially if you look eastwards.

* Vintage 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009

** Price per bottle, ex duty, tax and VAT, in whole cases and perfect condition

2014 Belle Epoque - The Third Most Popular

Only Richard Juhlin has consistently tasted his way through Belle Epoque, and unfortunately, he has not yet tasted and assessed the 2014 vintage. Even though the 2014 Belle Epoque has not yet been rated, it is highly sought after. According to wine-searcher.com, 2014 Belle Epoque is currently the third most popular 2014 vintage Champagne - based on search frequency. Only surpassed by 2014 Cristal and 2014 Bollinger La Grande Année.

Where the final score will land, of course, we do not know, although factors can give a hint. According to wine-searcher.com, the quality of the 2014 vintage in Champagne is: Good. And according to Wine Advocate's Vintage Guide, the 2014 vintage in Champagne is placed in the Outstanding category (90-95 points) with a ranking of 94 points - just a fraction away from being placed in the very best category.

The 2014 vintage was characterised by an unusually mild and wet winter followed by a dry and sunny spring. The summer was characterised by heavy rainfall in July and August with two months of contrasting temperatures. September returned to normal with favourable weather conditions for the harvest. Pierre Jouet's grapes were healthy and harvested at perfect maturity. The conditions for a good Belle Epoque are thus intact.

Juhlin has furthermore tasted and evaluated 29 individual Belle Epoque vintages, and the average score of the 29 vintages is 93.3, where the lowest score is 89 points and the highest is 96 points. Considering the overall rating of the vintage, it can be assumed that the 2014 Belle Epoque is in the higher point range within the above interval.

RareWine Invest's Opinion

Today it seems outrageous that an exclusive prestige cuvée from a large and recognised Champagne house can be acquired for just €125, but that is the case here - and whether the critics' scores are better or worse than the average of the last 29 vintages, the current price point offers exciting potential.

Belle Epoque has historically guaranteed returns and this is of course always a good indication of future potential. At the same time, Perrier-Jouet has strong marketing forces behind it that will do everything possible to continue to build the brand and increase distribution, and on the eastern horizon lies the luxury-thirsty Chinese with capital and ever-growing demand for sparkling wines and luxury.

Our spotlight continues to be on the great prestige cuvées from the great Champagne houses. Perrier-Jouet's Belle Epoque belongs to this category.