News Briefs for September 21, 2012
September 21, 2012•Sotheby’s will be auctioning off a selection of Krug Champagnes direct from Krug’s cellars on December 1 in New York City. Featuring more than 530 bottles, the collection—which has been stored at the Champagne house’s cellars in Reims, France since production—is the largest auction lot direct from Krug since 1843. Sale highlights include four wines from the Krug Grande Cuvée that have never before been released; a case of 1990 Krug Clos du Mesnil (estimated to fetch $18,000-$25,000); and 12 bottles of Krug Collection 1985 ($10,000-$15,000). Overall, the auction is expected to bring in $350,000-$500,000.
•Berry Bros. & Rudd’s single malt Scotch brand The Glenrothes has released the first expression in its Extraordinary Cask Collection. A 1970 vintage, the debut entry is packaged in a unique, limited edition crystal decanter and leather case from U.K.-based design company Brandhouse. Only 179 bottles of The Glenrothes Single Cask 1970 are available, priced at $5,000 a bottle. The series, created through the discovery of a private collector’s Glenrothes vintage casks—eventually will feature additional expressions dating from the late 1960s and early 1970s. Currently a 10,000-case brand, The Glenrothes is marketed in the U.S. by San Francisco-based Anchor Distilling.
•Bacardi Ltd. has embarked on a review of its global advertising account for its flagship rum brand, according to multiple reports. WPP’s Johannes Leonardo, based in New York, has handled Bacardi rum’s global creative for about a year, prior to which the account was held by fellow WPP unit Y&R since 2005. Bacardi’s current advertising has been centered around this year’s celebration of the company’s 150th anniversary. Bacardi rum is the world’s second-largest premium spirits brand by volume, after Diageo’s Smirnoff, selling 19.6 million nine-liter cases last year on 1.5% growth. Bacardi ranks fourth among global spirits brands by retail value—after Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff and Hennessy—with sales of $2.53 billion in 2011, up 1.6%, according to Impact Databank.
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