Nov 28: After feeding Indian consumers small doses of the staple Black Label for a few years, McGuigan Wines moved to add two more labels, The Private Bin and The Brothers at an informal Launch at the ATM bar and Restaurant Delhi on November 15, attended by Nicolas Heretiguian, General Manager and the Sales & Marketing Manager Asia Pacific Muir Leggett who were in town recently to promote their wines and Launch new labels, writes Subhash Arora who tasted the new labels to be formally launched next month in the Indian market through their distributor, Hema Connoisseur Collection
McGuigan Black Label is neither Scotch nor a Single Malt but the entry level, value-for-money Chardonnay and Shiraz wine labels in India of Australian Vintage Ltd-owned McGuigan Wines. It was introduced in India in 2013 through Hema Connoisseur Collection (HCC) along with a couple of other variants when Leah O’ Shea, their Export Executive had visited India; in fact she met me at my residence for breakfast because of my tight schedule at that point and I knew this wine was a winner. Unfortunately, it was very costly at around Rs. 1800/1600 and pretty nigh impossible to compete with Jacobs Creek even though the McGuigan Black Label Shiraz is claimed to be the best selling red wine in Australia.
Things became difficult in 2015 when the FSSAI fiasco happened thanks to the label complications. McGuigan expressed their inability to change labels for small quantities of import. It was then that I had a chat with Neil McGuigan, CEO of the company and explained to him why they should co-operate with the Indian distributor and how the Indian market could be lucrative for them in the long run.
It was good to see the company change its policy; no doubt also because of the Hong-Kong based General Manager Nicolas Heretiguian whom I met in Hong Kong and who grasped the situation on his visit to India around that time. The company also drastically reduced the prices so both the wines are now available at Rs. 950 each in Retail in Delhi-very aggressively priced against the Australian market leader Jacobs Creek and the fastest growing label Hardys.
It was in this scenario that Nicolas Heretiguian, General Manager and the Sales & Marketing Manager Asia Pacific Muir Leggett visited Delhi to not only promote these wines but also launch two new labels- Private Bin and The Brothers in the Indian market, starting with Delhi as soon as the new policy is declared by the Delhi excise for 2017-18; it was to be announced in April but is being extended on an adhoc basis for the last 8 months!
McGuigan took advantage of the visit and at a dinner hosted by Amit Agarwal of HCC at the ATM Bar and Restaurant (primarily for Members Only) also launched these 4 new wines with dinner and they will be available by December end. Black Label is perhaps the best value-for-money Australian wine and at Rs. 950 a bottle a steal so far as the decent quality imported wines are concerned.
But it fades in character if taken beside the Private Bin Labels which are distinctly more concentrated, elegant and balanced wines. At the expected release price at Rs. 1400, these would be even better value wines than the Black Label. The Brother at Rs. 1800 are also very aggressively priced and will be suitable for those looking for the upper-end of the range, with price elasticity being less important.
McGuigan Wines are winners of several International Awards including HKIWSC where I have been judging regularly and met the Winemaker and CEO, Neil McGuigan as the Guest judge in 2015. International Trophy winners at the IWSC in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2016, named as the World’s Best White wine maker at the IWC, and with a bagful of Awards elsewhere, make them one of the world’s most awarded wine makers. Recently the company was chosen as the 2017 Australian Winemaker of the Year at the New York International Wine Competition.
The Launch was a very convivial affair, helped in part by the physical closeness imposed by the tight space at the restaurant. It did get a bit claustrophobic and the serving staff were slightly unnerved by the number. But once the evening settled down, it got more palatable; so did the 6 wines.
With the 3 labels to be soon available, McGuigan will be better armed to compete with the likes of Jacobs Creek and Hardys. Undoubtedly, the best PQR (Price-Quality Ration) will be for the Private Bins wines and more specifically the Shiraz which was an exquisite combination with lamb.
With Nicolas Heretiguian and Muir Leggett sensing the potential market and promising to visit more often, the time is not far off when they will give both the competitors run for their money and if HCC is equipped to go deeper into the market, a bright future is assured for McGuigan wines, hopefully making Neil McGuigan visit India too.
Till then, Jai Ho to Black Label, private Bin and The Brothers from McGuigan!
Subhash Arora
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