On Thursday night in Stockholm Champagne Club by Richard Juhlin & partners won the Swedish design award Guldägget for the latest epic work ‘Champagne Magnum Opus’.
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Guldägget 2022
Guldägget (The golden egg) – Sweden’s largest competition in creative communication. Guldägget rewards this year’s best, most innovative and smartest communication. The purpose is to inspire the creators, and show both clients and the outside world the huge difference between mediocre ideas, and communication that creates change in big steps.
”Like Mozart, Richard Juhlin is a miracle. Born in Sweden, Richard has a unique talent for smell, which is the basic tool which made him the top expert in the world of Champagne. Like young Mozart, he became a star in Paris. In 2003, at the blind tasting organized by Spectacle du Monde, he identified correctly 43 of the 50 champagnes. The runner up identified only four.”
This is the lifework of the worlds best champagne expert made into one big (48 cm height) book, 446 pages, 12 chapters, 10 recipes and 13,000 champagne tastings and a bit more.
To explore Champagne Magnum Opus should be like opening a bottle of champagne, you will have to enter the content through a small ritual. Dynamic and versatile as the wine itself, the book is not just about a beverage, it’s an invitation to a universe of pleasure.
In the spirit of champagne a team of selected artisans was gathered to execute our vision. From photographers, artists, letterpress, bookbinders to a rare Spanish cork manufacturer and producers from the district of Champagne. Tradition and classic heritage are mixed with innovation and contemporary influences.
The collector’s edition is presented in a large and unique, hand crafted cork box. Inside the box you will find a sumptuous kit of memorabilia. Several custom made compartments includes signed letters and personal notes by Richard. Contour stickers printed on a rare pink metallic sheet and a small note book that includes notes from the legendary 2003 blind tasting. The edition is signed and numbered individually.
A gold foil slipcase with a bottle shaped window that reveals the bottle green Saffianino cover with a hotfoiled title inspired by chalk writing, typical from the barrels and bottles in the cellars of Champagne.
To set the tone we reached out to the Champagne community with a request for exclusive memoriblia from their archives. The response was overwhelming, and made us realise the impact of Richard in the world’s most prestigous wine district. Producers send imagery, ads and letters from their archives that we mixed with new interpretations to form the introduction to the book.
Richard has a uniqe way of describing his tastings that makes him very accesible in an exclusive world. To further inspire and educate in the art of senses, som of the most eccentric taste notes are visualised in still life aspirational and artistique images in line with the traditon of Champagne.
Artist Jayde Fish, known for her whimsical collaborations with creative director Allessandro Michele at Gucci, was comissioned to create a visual understanding of the curious mind of Mr Juhlin. Her interpretiation of Richard’s “tasting ladder” illustrates the depth of his unique competence.
Finally the truly unique aspect of the book is the 13,000 (!) tasting notes are gradeings. Brought to life in a classic manner with inspiration from the Yellow Pages with typgraphy found on barrels, moderised and mixed with champagne reflections. Salut!
- Creative Director
Pontus Frankenstein, Frankenstein Studio - Art Director
Anton Östholm - Art Director Junior
Sofus Nyström - Author
Richard Juhlin - Chef / Writer
Tommy Myllymäki - Writer
Alf Tumble - Writer
Björnstierne Antonsson - Photographer
Pål Allan - Photographer
Fredrik Skogkvist - Illustrator
Jayde Fish - Set Designer
Niklas Hansen - Client
Simon Brouwers, Mondial - Proof Reading/Final Art
Anton Rosander, Mondial - PR
Emma Ulveus, Mondial - Print producer
Silvia Onofrio, Rotolito Lombarda
