Jay-Z’s Champagne House Releases New $850 Bottle

Today, Bloomberg announced that Jay-Z’s Armand de Brignac is releasing a new $850 Champagne. The bottle, Armand de Brignac Blanc de Noirs Assemblage Two (A2 for short) is a blend from the 2008, 2009, and 2010 vintages.

So what makes the Armand de Brignac A2 so expensive? For starters, there are only 2,333 bottles produced. Next, high quality grapes are definitely in the mix from top-notch vineyards in Bouzy, Verzenay, Chigny-les-Roses, Ludes and Rilly-laMontagne.

From a flavor standpoint, the A2 is purported to be quite similar to the A1 released two years earlier. Tasting notes allude to great complexity, with “lively grape, honeysuckle and notes of peppermint” along with “strong minerality”. The A2 is more than just your ordinary celebriwine — it has already received 96 points from Decanter magazine.

Armand de Brignac has been produced by Champagne Cattier since the 1950s, but was not introduced to the United States until 2006. Once Jay-Z incorporated the Champagne into one of his songs, Armand de Brignac exploded onto the U.S. wine and nightlife scene. Ultimately, Jay-Z purchased the brand in 2014, and the rest was history.

• Jay-Z’s New A2 Champagne Costs $850 a Bottle, Bloomberg