Champagne chefs de caves Frédéric Panaïotis (Ruinart), Vincent Chaperon (Dom Pérignon), Benoît Gouez (Moët & Chandon), Hervé Deschamps (Perrier-Jouët), Régis Camus (Rare Champagne) and Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon (Louis Roederer) with CSWWC judges Tom Stevenson, George Markus and Essi Avellan MW
Fireworks were flying last Monday night, as a record breaking number of awards were presented at the Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships Awards Dinner. A total of 41 Trophies were presented from the Best in Class winners to the greatest sparkling wine producers from around the globe.
A global ‘who’s who’ gathering of over 200 international winemakers, producers and journalists at the annual CSWWC Awards Dinner in London cheered to the Lifetime Achievement Award winners Michel Fauconnet of Laurent-Perrier, Regis Camus of Rare & formerly Piper & Charles Heidsieck, Ruben Laurentis of Ferrari Trentodoc and Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon of Louis Roederer. Competition Chairman Tom Stevenson stated the following of the Champagne chefs de caves:
Michel Fauconnet
The chef de caves of Champagne Laurent-Perrier from 2005 until 2020, when he hands over to Dominique Demarville. Michel started at Laurent-Perrier in 1973 and spent 30 years under the tutelage of the diminutive but dynamic Alain Terrier. Without a shadow of doubt, the most important achievement of Michel’s career has been the recent introduction of Grand Siècle iterations, which identify the three constituent years, enabling collectors to cellar and follow each release.
Régis Camus
The chef de caves of Champagne Rare, and formerly of Charles and Piper-Heidsieck. I first met Régis when he was the chef de caves at Champagne Jacquart and was immediately impressed by the silk purse he produced out of the 1987 vintage, which was a sow’s ear of a year, if ever there was one. In 1997 he took over from the legendary Daniel Thibault, and not only maintained his mentor’s extraordinary high quality at Charles Heidsieck, but surpassed it at Piper-Heidsieck. Now he is enjoying the autumn of his career focusing on the prestige cuvée Champagne Rare.
Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon
The chef de caves and vice-president of Champagne Louis Roederer, Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon has won an astonishing 50 gold medals at the CSWWC and, up to 2018, no fewer than 22 Best in Class and 17 trophies, including the Supreme World Champion trophy an unprecedented three times. We believe that’s enough achievement for several lifetimes!
All Trophy-winning Champagnes for 2019 are (As this site is for Champagne only, see CSWWC site for the global list of winners):
Supreme World Champion Dom Pérignon 2004 Brut in Magnum
World Champion Classic Brut Vintage Blend Louis Roederer 2012 Brut Vintage in Magnum
World Champion Classic Blanc de Blancs Palmer & Co NV Blanc de Blancs in Magnum
World Champion Library Vintage Louis Roederer 1995 Cristal Rosé Vinotheque in Magnum
The Chairman’s Trophy Palmer & Co 2003 Grands Terroirs in Magnum
National Champion
Best French Sparkling Wine Dom Pérignon 2004 Brut in Magnum
Regional Champions
Best Non-Deluxe Champagne Louis Roederer 2012 Brut Vintage in Magnum
Best Deluxe Champagne Dom Pérignon 2004 Brut in Magnum
Best Champagne Dom Pérignon 2004 Brut in Magnum
Best in Class winners
BEST IN CLASS CHAMPAGNE NON-VINTAGE BRUT Piper-Heidsieck NV Cuvée Brut in Magnum
BEST IN CLASS CHAMPAGNE VINTAGE BRUT & BEST IN CLASS CHAMPAGNE MAGNUM Louis Roederer 2012 Brut Vintage in Magnum
BEST IN CLASS CHAMPAGNE NON-VINTAGE BLANC DE BLANCS Palmer & Co NV Blanc de Blancs in Magnum
BEST IN CLASS CHAMPAGNE VINTAGE BLANC DE BLANCS Mumm 2012 RSRV Blanc de Blancs
BEST IN CLASS CHAMPAGNE NON-VINTAGE BLANC DE NOIRS: Canard-Duchêne NV Charles VII Blanc de Noirs
BEST IN CLASS CHAMPAGNE VINTAGE BLANC DE NOIRS: Pannier 2014 Blanc de Noirs
BEST IN CLASS CHAMPAGNE NONVINTAGE ROSÉ Devaux NV D Rosé in Magnum
BEST IN CLASS CHAMPAGNE VINTAGE ROSÉ Louis Roederer 2010 Brut Rosé in Magnum
BEST IN CLASS CHAMPAGNE DEMI-SEC Piper-Heidsieck NV Cuvée Sublime
BEST IN CLASS SINGLE-VINEYARD CHAMPAGNE Taittinger NV Folies de la Marquetterie
BEST DELUE CHAMPAGNE FUTURE RELEASE Ruinart Dom Ruinart Rosé 2007
BEST IN CLASS DELUXE CHAMPAGNE BRUT MULTIVINTAGE Moët & Chandon NV MCIII
BEST IN CLASS DELUXE CHAMPAGNE VINTAGE & BEST IN CLASS DELUXE CHAMPAGNE MAGNUM Dom Pérignon 2004 Brut in Magnum
BEST IN CLASS DELUXE CHAMPAGNE ROSÉ Louis Roederer 2007 Cristal Rosé in Magnum
BEST IN CLASS DELUXE CHAMPAGNE BLANC DE BLANCS Perrier-Jouët 2004 Belle Epoque Blanc de Blancs in Magnum
