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Pictured from left to right: Sharon Beecham, Manager Purchasing and Vendor Support, Dubai Duty Free; Giorgio Kanalga, Business Manager, Treasury Wine Estates; Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman, Dubai Duty Free; Helena Malfait, Sales Manager, African + Eastern; Saba Tahir, Vice President Purchasing, Vendor Support and Research, Dubai Duty Free |
UAE. Dubai Duty Free is offering for sale one of only 12 handcrafted, individually numbered Penfolds Ampoules at Dubai International.
Dubbed a “work of wine art”, the ampoule is showcased at Dubai Duty Free in Concourse A, which opened in January 2013 and is dedicated to the Emirates A380 fleet. It retails at AED634,000 (about US$170,000).
The Penfolds Ampoule is the first project for the Treasury Wine Estates Global Travel Retail team which was announced earlier this year. The team aims to establish Treasury Wine Estates’ brands as leaders in travel retail.
Global Travel Retail Commercial Director Tom King said: “We are delighted to work with Dubai Duty Free through African + Eastern and start to increase our presence and drive traveller engagement with the wine category in the travel retail channel.”
The Penfolds Ampoule was created to celebrate the 2004 Kalimna Block 42 Cabernet Sauvignon. The winemakers have broken fresh ground by releasing a limited-edition glass ampoule, containing a rare wine in a distinctive format. It is described as a hand-blown glass ampoule that provides an ideal wine environment and a bespoke glass plumb-bob that suspends the ampoule within a wooden Jarrah cabinet.
The Penfolds Ampoule is also designed to provide a memorable experiential and sensory engagement. When a decision is made to open the ampoule, a senior member of the Penfolds’ winemaking team personally attends an opening ceremony for the owner – dubbed “your very own master-class”.
The winemaker travels to the destination of choice, where the ampoule is removed from its glass plumb-bob casing and opened using a specially designed, tungsten-tipped, sterling silver scribe-snap. The winemaker then prepares the wine using a crafted sterling silver tastevin.
Commenting on the Penfolds Ampoule, Dubai Duty Free Executive Vice Chairman Colm McLoughlin said: “We are delighted to be one of only ten retail operations to display and sell this unique and innovative work of wine art. The whole history and sense of theatre around this wine will appeal to our customers, particularly those using the fantastic facilities of the new Concourse A, which is spectacular.”
Treasury Wine Estates Global Travel Retail Customer Marketing Director Alexandre Bussiere said: “The Ampoule is the ultimate reflection of Penfolds’ winemaking heritage, innovation and artistic collaboration delivering a ground breaking work of art.
“The first class experience of Dubai Duty Free is the perfect environment to showcase Penfolds’ premium portfolio and deliver a great customer shopping experience.”
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Pictured from left: Sean Staunton, Vice President – Operations; Alpio Angeles, Buyer – Purchasing and Research; Sharon Beecham, Manager -Purchasing and Vendor Support; Sinead El Sibai, Vice President – Marketing; Giorgio Kanalga, Business Manager Treasury Wine Estates; Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman; Helena Malfait, Sales Manager African + Eastern; Saba Tahir, Vice President – Purchasing and Research; Salah Tahlak, Senior Vice President – Corporate Communications; Ramesh Cidambi, Senior Vice President – IT and Logistics; Michael Schmidt, Manager – Retail Sales; Rachael Green, Manager – Recruitment and Employee Development |
The wine: 2004 Block 42 Kalimna Cabernet Sauvignon
Planted in the mid-1880’s, the Block 42 vineyard is located at the edge of the Penfold’s Kalimna property in the Moppa area of the Barossa Valley, about 60km north of South Australia’s capital, Adelaide. The ten-acre Block 42 vineyard consists of Cabernet Sauvignon vines of ancient genetic origins. It belongs to a national heritage of 19th Century pre-phylloxera Australian vineyards, and is thought to be the oldest plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon in the world.
For almost 130 vintages, these vines – planted on their own roots – have produced flavour-intense, mineral-rich fruit with concentration and balance, according to Penfolds. Limited yields mean that Penfolds rarely releases a single-vineyard wine from Block 42.
The wine has received plaudits from wine critics worldwide and in 2011 it was awarded 100 points by renowned US wine critic James Suckling.
Glass sculpture, designed by Nick Mount
Nick Mount is one of Australia’s leading glass artists, with a career spanning four decades. His work is represented in major private and public collections, and he regularly exhibits in Europe, the US and Japan. Mount’s recent work has featured a recurring motif of the plumb-bob – a builder’s instrument used since the time of ancient Egypt for determining a vertical line. To encase the ampoule, Mount has designed and blown a conical, elongated plumb-bob of transparent grey glass with a red “˜cotton-reel’ top. The plumb-bob is suspended in the cabinet, with the ampoule held securely at its core.
Ampoule, created by Ray Leake
Ray Leake is a scientific glassblower with more than 40 years’ experience creating customised laboratory glassware. The glass Leake used for the ampoule is laboratory-grade Borosilicate glass, which is transparent, chemical-resistant and heat-resistant. Leake’s task was to blow the 12 glass ampoules to exactly the same specifications.
Precious metal detailing, by Hendrik Forster
Hendrik Forster’s commissions include Australia’s gift for the Royal Wedding in 1981; tableware for the Australian Prime Minister’s residence; and church silver for St Stephen’s Cathedral in Brisbane. Forster and Nick Mount worked through the challenges of how to separate the cone, secure the ampoule inside, and then suspend the plumb-bob in a steady position. The metals were chosen for their working qualities and rhodium was used for its shine and resistance to tarnish. The plumb-bob is suspended by a stainless steel thread, and the rhodium-plated metal tip of the cone is held in place by an inverted sommelier’s tasting cup, a tastevin, crafted from sterling silver with a gold dome.
Bespoke cabinet, made by Andrew Bartlett
Andrew Bartlett designs and makes bespoke furniture using traditional age-old methods out of his studio in Adelaide. The wood selected is native Australian Jarrah from forestry-certified timber grown in Western Australia’s Margaret River region. The rich, dark stain of the wood is the result of an old-fashioned technique, which is natural and chemical-free. The interior of the cabinet is lined with bevelled, grey smoke-backed mirror.
