Tasting demonstrated quality of this New World wine and discussed trends in the luxury market
(NEW YORK) March 2, 2012 — Lapostolle, the Marnier Lapostolle family-owned premium winery inChile, hosted a blind tasting with their Cuvee Alexandre Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 and 2009 vintages. Held at the Astor Center in New York City on March 1st, the tasting pit Lapostolle Cuvee Alexandre Cabernet Sauvignon, a wine consistently rated at 90 points and above, against other top Cabernet contenders, both at price parity and far exceeding the cost of the Lapostolle marque.
The tasting opened with a presentation by Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute, who discussed how luxury is perceived today. In the uncertainty of the current economy, the concept of luxury is being redefined to mean quality, excellence, consistency and a demonstrable superiority when measured against others in its class. Savvy consumers no longer define fine wines by their cost, but rather by quality, taste and refinement. Experts predict that wine buyers will be ever more likely to trade up from popular price points under $20 for better quality and taste, and the $25 tier is projected to rise in sales.
The blind tasting was conducted by Master of Wine Sheri Sauter Morano, with media attendees given the opportunity to taste and rank the wines. At the conclusion, Sheri revealed the average of all the rankings, listed below beginning with the most favorably ranked wine and ending with the least favorably ranked wine:
- 3.9 – Lapostolle Cuvee Alexandre, Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, Colchagua Valley USD $25
- 4.0 - Jordan, Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Alexander Valley USD $45
- 4.3 - Joseph Phelps, Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, Napa Valley USD $60
- 4.3 – Silver Oak, Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Alexander Valley USD $73
- 4.5 – Caymus Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, Napa Valley USD $75
- 4.5 – Beringer, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, Knights Valley, USD $25
- 4.9 – Lapostolle Cuvee Alexandre, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, Colchagua Valley USD $25
- 5.6 – The Montelena Estate, Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 USD $135
“Blind tasting is always a wonderful equalizer. This tasting was a great opportunity to challenge assumptions and make new discoveries. I think that the Lapostolle Cuvee Alexandre Cabernet Sauvignon is a fantastic example of the kind of excellent, top-quality wines being made in Chile today that deliver not only on taste, but on value for the consumer as this tasting clearly demonstrated,” says Sheri Sauter Morano MW.
“We were excited with results from this blind tasting and to demonstrate that, with a suggested retail price of $25, our wines truly play on the world stage; and equal in quality to brands costing far more than our Cuvee tier,” says Pamela Broyles, North American Marketing Manager.
Milton Pedraza says, “Lapostolle is a wonderful example of delivering true discernible value to post-recession consumers who demand legitimacy from luxury products. The results of this tasting coupled with the authenticity and strong family history behind the Lapostolle label truly demonstrates that the Cuvee Alexandre tier is worthy of consideration as luxury consumption evolves.”
Cuvee Alexandre Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 and 2009 are available nationwide (SRP $24.99 / 750ml).