Where is Ace of Spades From and What Is Its History

The Armand de Brignac (Ace of Spades) is a French Champagne owned by LVMH (Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE) and Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter. The brand is manufactured by Champagne Cattier and typically sold in opaque metallic bottles.

History

According to Jean-Jacques Cattier, the original name "de Brignac" was registered by the Cattier family around the late 1940s. The name was chosen by his mother, who, at the time, was inspired by reading a fictional novel with a character named de Brignac. The brand, which had been dormant for decades, was rejuvenated for the new champagne after including the name "Armand." A France-based industry group, Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC), required this addition to prevent any confusion with Brignac – a northwestern French village located just at the outskirt of the Champagne region itself.

The turn of the twenty-first century saw the Cattier family earmarking parcels of reserve wines for a modern, ultra-prestige Champagne project. By 2006, the first bottles of Ace of Spades Gold (Armand de Brignac Brut Gold) would leave the cellars in France.

Winemaking

Jean-Jacques and Alexandre Cattier currently lead the Champagne Cattier team, producing Ace of Spades. They are 12th and 13th-generation champagne growers. A bottle of Armand de Brignac is touched by a team of 18 people right from when the fruit is pressed to when the bottles depart from the cellars in France.

The Ace of Spades champagnes are produced in the Rilly-la-Montagne village, Montagne de Reims region of Champagne, France. The fruit is sourced from the numerous hectares owned by the Cattier family and selected growers across the region. When making Ace of Spades, all three Champagne grape varieties are used: Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir.

The Ace of Spades Champagnes is manufactured in a multi-vintage style. The Brut Gold cuvée is a blend of the grape varieties Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. Two other cuvées, a Blanc de Blancs (100% Chardonnay), and a Rosé, were released in 2008. In 2015, a Blanc de Noirs (100% Pinot Noir) and a Demi-Sec also joined the variety.