Armand De Brignac Reveals Its Most Exclusive Champagne To Date: Assemblage No. 5

It’s been a decade since Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter forever changed the game for champagne with the introduction of Armand de Brignac Blanc de Noirs cuvée. At the time, the mega-mogul sought to bottle something opulent and expressive of minerality—not unusual characteristics for luxury sparkling wines. The departure from the norm was in his desire for a Blanc de Noirs (built entirely of Pinot Noir grapes) and his willingness to blend vintages into an assemblage to create a dynamic offering, greater than the sum of its parts.

So he worked closely with his winemaking team in the northeast of France to develop something spectacular. Assemblage No. 1 exhibited aromas of stone fruit and tickled the palate with crystallized orange zest. It popped off in a pleasantly piquant way that few Blanc de Blancs could echo. Only 3000 bottles of the bubbly liquid rolled out of the cellar—along with a new benchmark for what this label would be. Now the Maison is unveiling the latest chapter in that ongoing story: Blanc de Noirs Assemblage No. 5. “Mr. Z” seems pretty pleased with the results.

“Assemblage No. 5 is the result of years of patience, precision, and purpose,” says Carter, the business-minded founder of Armand de Brignac (in 2021, he sold a 50% stake in the to LVMH for a purported $315 million). “It’s bold, it’s rare, and it reflects the legacy we’ve been building bottle by bottle. We built this brand from scratch with a clear vision to create champagne of the highest quality and taste, with no compromises.”

As it pertains to “A5,” that equates to a 100% Pinot Noir-derived juice plucked from Premier and Grand Cru villages, including Chigny-les-Roses and Verzenay. Richness and depth was layered atop that in the form of fruit from Ville-sur-Arce, a region renowned for its limestone minerality. The multi-vinatage cuvée is an assemblage of wines from 2014, 2015 and 2016, aged for seven years on the lees.

Marzipan, mango and kiwi lead the bouquet and hold true onto the front of the palate. But the aforementioned minerality arrives in the finish—a touch of slate and salinity, a firm foil against bergamot and candied brioche.

Positioned as a prestige collectors edition champagne, only 8,165 bottles are being released worldwide—for an undisclosed sum. Though, as an indicator, previous editions in the lineup have retailed for $1300. Each one will be individually numbered and inscribed with its disgorgement date of August 21, 2024.

To learn more about the evolution of Armand de Brignac’s Assemblage series, we sat down with the brand’s president of commercial operations — and celebrated sommelier — Monika Kaufman. Below, she reveals some insight on the new release, its famous founder and the legacy of the liquid he’s built.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Tell us briefly about what separates A5 as a unique expression in this ongoing series.

Monika Kaufman: “Blanc de Noirs Assemblage No. 5, is our boldest, most expressive release yet, shaped by a decade of vision that dares to reimagine what Champagne can be. Regarding the flavor profile, the minerality is important and it has a very bold character of black fruit from Blackberry, but also a lot of plum, and hints of that the Mirabelle plum and then there is also that crystallized ginger, which is very prominent on the palette. No.5 is opulent, but light at the same time and very approachable.”

Armand de Brignac is obviously positioned up-market as a prestige, collector’s edition champagne. What steps do you take to ensure that the substance matches the style?

MK: “Regarding luxury, everything on my mind is really about quality and that also goes back to our founder JAY-Z and his approach. There is no such thing as cutting corners. So, if it wasn’t a great vintage, if the weather was challenging, and we have to source grapes from different villages, different Grand Cru and Premier villages, and the process is more expensive, JAY-Z would say, ‘go for it,’ because it’s not about saving a penny. It’s about creating the best of the best. We feel that is luxury coupled with quality, and that is what Armand de Brignac stands for.”

Talk about the brand’s widespread association with celebration—specifically in pro sports and how that helps with luxury positioning.

MK: “We are known for organically inserting Armand de Brignac into winning moments where professional athletes across NFL, NBA, NHL and more leagues open bottles and spray them. Of course, they wouldn’t want to spray just any bottle of Prosecco. They’re spraying Armand de Brignac because they associate what the brand stands for: perseverance, hard work, celebration — all those things they worked incredibly hard to achieve this moment. And now they are opening the bottle and celebrating with it.

Armand de Brignac is instantly recognizable on shelves with its unique packaging and design. How much of a role does Jay-Z play in this creative process?

MK: “Each release is a collaboration with our founder. Jay-Z is involved in everything. Across the board, each touch point receives a sign off from him. This goes back again to quality and understanding of luxury, whether it’s developing or releasing an ice bucket and if it doesn’t feel or look right, he decides it should not go into the market. He won’t sign off on it. And the same thing with the selection of the grapes. Of course, he’s not a winemaker, and he lets our winemakers make the decisions and allows the winemaking team to create the best wine but, but everything really starts with his vision, and he has final approval.”