We chatted bubbly with Gerald Loparco, Sales Director of luxury champagne Armand de Brignac, also known famously as “The Ace of Spades”.
GLAMOUR: What is the history of the brand?
Gerald: We are a family-run champagne house established by the Cattier family in 1773. Recently, we celebrated our 250-year anniversary. We produce 70,000 bottles of Armand de Brignac, our luxury cuvée, which was first launched in 2006 and was bought by Jay-Z last year. There are three luxury cuvée’s under the Armand de Brignac name, the Brut Gold, Rosé and Blanc de Blancs.
GLAMOUR: Which
Gerald: My favourite is the Blanc de Blancs, which is currently sold out – we produce about 6,000 bottles per year. What I love about it is the very creamy texture and that it’s quite a wine-y champagne.
GLAMOUR: How did the nickname “Ace of Spades” come about?
Gerald: As we use a very distinctive label, which is the insignia of the French monarchy, the people started to call it in French, “l’as de pique” or in English, the ace of spades. It’s quite hard to pronounce Armand de Brignac, so it’s easier to say, “Bring me a bottle of Ace of Spades.”
GLAMOUR: What sets Armand de Brignac apart from other luxury champagnes?
Gerald: We really wanted to create champagne, which is outstanding and that competes with other luxury cuvée’s. We have modern packaging, but a very traditional way of producing. Everything is done in an artisanal way with lots of attention to detail. The harvesting, the picking of the grapes, the pressing, and the labelling is all done by hand. We are not a mass-produced brand like other champagne houses who produce about 9 million bottles of their luxury cuvée, and this makes the most difference.
GLAMOUR: How should you taste champagne?
Gerald: The same way, in which you taste wine, it’s best to use a big glass like a Burgundy one, so it can open up. The ideal temperature is between 12 and 14 degrees Celsius.
GLAMOUR:
Gerald: Absolutely, we’ve done a lot of champagne dinners around the world. Each of the cuvée’s can be paired with a meal and the Rosé is great with dessert.
GLAMOUR: What is your champagne DON’T?
Gerald: You should never drink champagne with ice cubes in it.
