Tasting sized pours
Does Vijay Mallya like champagne? Apparently so since he offered $750 million for Taittinger, the sixth biggest house in Champagne. However, like his fellow Indian businessman Laksmhi Mittal who has also been recently outbid while trying to buy a French (steel) company, Mallya, who heads United Breweries of Bangalore, withdrew his bid. Credit Agricole, a French bank working with some members of the Taittinger family, sealed the deal by offering $850 million. The Economist reports that reaction in Champagne was not hostile to Mallya since locals saw India as an excellent market for growth and actually were more afraid that the house ending up in the hands of Bernard Arnault of LVMH. In the end, Starwood, the seller, benefits the most from the higher selling price. (background)
The Economist’s summer “Intelligent Life” issue is out now with an article on “bubbles and bling” tracking who, over time, has been able to afford the most expensive cuvees from Champagne. Check out my pink picks.
If you’re looking for bargain bubbly, I recently was amazed to see 1999 Moet on sale at Garnet Liquor in Manhattan for $33–less than the nonvintage right next to it! But then I found it online at PJ’s for $29.97. Wow. I’m going to party like it’s 1999. (click here for store info)
Greenpeace says that radioactive waste from a nearby power plant is a “threat” to the Champagne region. Um, cheers!?!? [Decanter]
Christian Delpeuch announced that he won’t serve an extra third year as head of the Bordeaux wine trade council. He arrived two years ago in the rotating presidency with a reform agenda and has been frustrated in his efforts to implement it. [Sudouest]
Finally, are you wondering how best to deploy your cash into Bordeaux 2005 futures? A wine enthusiast in Amsterdam has compiled a lot of info on Bordeaux into a single, neat and tidy web page. Functionality includes the ability to sort by various categories, including price, critic, and even winemaker. BordOverview.com
On June 5th, 2006 at 10:43 am ,EVWG wrote:
Just want to compliment you on a great blog! Checked out Moore Brothers. What a great idea. Never would found out about it if it wasn’t for Dr. Vino’s blog. Thanks man.
http://www.evwg.blogspot.com
On June 5th, 2006 at 10:48 am ,Dr. Vino wrote:
Excellent! Glad you liked it EVWG.
On June 7th, 2006 at 8:51 am ,Anonymous wrote:
Dear Dr.Vino,
while your blog is a daily routine for me and I have tremendous respect for you, I would appreciate a bit more accuracy on your side. Mittal is trying to buy Arcelor, which is NOT a french company (as a matter of fact a little over 5% are owned by the Luxembourg state and roughly 85% are free float) and he was NOT outbid (in a ridiculous attempt to thwart the takeover, Arcelor’s CEO and director of the board decided to “merge” with a more-than-dodgy Russian steelmaker).
On June 7th, 2006 at 10:24 pm ,Dr. Vino wrote:
Dear anonymous,
Thank you for your loyal readership! Comments like your first remark would warm the cockles of any blogger’s heart.
As to the rest of your comment, my steel fact checker was out of the Dr. Vino World Headquarters that day. So as you point out, some of the details regarding Arcelor were inaccurate. Mittal was not outbid–snubbed would have been more accurate–since, as you point out, Arcelor is trying to fend off his bid by making their own bid. While Arcelor is not a French company it does employ 30,000 people in France. And the prevailing economic climate in France is protectionist–witness the reaction to the Danone takeover rumor last summer (or the government’s threat of veto in mergers in 11 industries according to the Economist, which attracted an inquiry from the EU internal market commissioner). Indeed, the PM grumbled about it. But I guess that’s all he can do in this case.
Cheers,