Latest news with #Cristal
LeMonde
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- LeMonde
Annecy animation festival awards top prize to 'Arco' by Ugo Bienvenu
While many French animation studios and their teams are grappling with a crisis, the French animation industry received significant recognition during the closing ceremony of the 49 th Annecy International Animation Film Festival on Saturday, June 14. The Cristal for Best Feature Film was awarded to Arco, named after a young hero from the future who falls from the sky and is taken in by a girl his age, Iris (their names reference "arco iris," rainbow in Spanish). This debut animated feature confirms 38-year-old Ugo Bienvenu's talent for crafting humanist futuristic fiction, whether it emerges in comics, like System Preference, or on the big screen. Another French production honored was Planètes (Planets) by Momoko Seto, which won the Paul-Grimault Prize. Described during its Annecy screening as "an action movie with plants," the film follows four dandelion achenes on an epic migratory journey. In the short film category, the jury also awarded a Cristal to French director Pierre-Luc Granjon for Les Bottes de la nuit (The Night Boots), a film created using the pinscreen animation technique and intended for a young audience.
Forbes
15-06-2025
- Forbes
The Luxury Champagne Wine That Expresses Intense Sense Of Place
Grape vines in Champagne during a sunrise Champagne vineyards with dormant vines during the winter The cold air brought a serene silence that washed out all the angst-filled thoughts that constantly plagued her mind. Among the snow-covered landscape, there seemed to be little, bare bonsai trees without their foliage that whimsically curved to the side with such grace, adding to the otherworldliness of this place. These plants are dormant during their winter rest, yet it is a perfect opportunity to truly view their diminutive stature without their canopies giving the false impression of heft. Although this place, happily, didn't resemble anything in the daily grind of the woman experiencing this much-needed escape, it was indeed very real; so real that the expression of this land in a glass of Champagne was so distinctive that the drinker was taken aback of how much the sense of chalk within the soil dominated every nuance of this libation. These were the exceptional vineyards of Champagne Cristal, where the nutrient-poor, chalk dominant soils caused the grape vines to struggle so much that they seemed more like tiny bonsai than the typical big, broad vines that are more prevalent worldwide. That is why the chef de caves of Cristal, Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, nicknamed these particular vines "bonsai" because they were rare, even compared to the other vines in his beloved wine region of Champagne, France. Champagne Cristal Louis Roederer Tombstone In a world where many of the top luxury wines are being bought out by corporate entities, the Louis Roederer Champagne house has remained an independent, family-owned company with seventh-generation Frédéric Rouzaud currently leading the way. In 1876, they selected their best vineyards to craft one of the most distinguished Champagnes ever, Champagne Cristal, and part of their success has been rooted in the family's knowing from very early on that the greatness of Champagne laid in the vineyards that would express the depth of terroir a.k.a. sense of place. In 1816, a man named André Jullien published a seminal book called Topography of All Known Vineyards (Topographie de tous les vignobles connus) that included a classification of vineyards in the Champagne region. Louis Roederer inherited the Champagne House in 1833 and just a little over a decade later, followed André Jullien's classification and started to make a significant investment in buying stellar vineyards. Louis Roederer vineyards Today, many of the best vineyards in Champagne are the ones that Jullien chose over a century ago, and the easiest way to take a tour of some of Jullien's noted top sites is to visit the vineyards that go into making Champagne Cristal. Whether it is the Basses Coutures vineyard in the Champagne village of Verzenay, where there is silt and chalk in the soil, or the biodynamic Bonnotte-Pierre-Robert vineyard with its limestone bedrock in the Aÿ village, all of the plots blended into Cristal express a multifaceted picture of the most outstanding aspects of the Champagne region. Even the various chalky soils that differ in form will make different qualities within the wines - as chef de caves Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon says, the Verzernay vineyard is like the Burgundy Grand Cru vineyard of Chambertin, with its "power and strength," and the Aÿ vineyard is like the Grand Cru Musigny in Burgundy so it has a lovely "perfume and softness." But Louis Roederer is not resting on their laurels as they have implemented many programs to explore ways to find an ideal balance within the vines and protecting their longevity to encourage long life. They also use modern scientific disciplines to identify the broad diversity of clones within their vineyards that have thrived through massal selection (using the cuttings of exceptional, old vines to propagate new ones). Champagne Louis Roederer uses horses to plow the vineyards so the roots aren't damaged by tractors In 2002, they started a project called In Vinifera Aeternitas, gathering experts such as Lilian Bérillon, a nursery owner specializing in massal selection of the best estates all over the world, and Professor Jean-Michel Boursiquot, one of the most talented ampelographers (a person who identifies and classifies grapevines) to help accomplish their goals. One of the things they have achieved is employing pruning techniques of the vines that "respect the sap flow" to ensure a longer life while also implementing a permaculture philosophy that centers around creating sustainable and resilient systems that mimic natural ecosystems, which goes hand in hand with their organic and biodynamic practices. When it comes to their organic and biodynamic practices, Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon said that he has noticed that the pH of their wines is lower than before they converted to organic, increasing their acidity. Finding Terroir In Champagne Vineyards in the Champagne region during sunset The wine region of Champagne is a worldwide marketing success story as many houses have created brands that dominate the luxury wine market with incredible packaging, lavish events and placement in some of the top high-end clubs around the world, yet many of those luxury brands are owned by big corporations. Although that success has hurt the family-owned houses that avoid such marketing blitzes as they don't want such a frenzy to overshadow the soul of their Champagnes, expressing some of the best vineyards. There has been a backlash against these famous brands with a revolution of grower Champagnes, where growers make tiny quantities of Champagne wines, many who used to sell their grapes to large brands, and many times their bottlings are single vineyard wines. Despite many of these Champagnes being excellent examples of an expression of a particular plot, it is wrong to think these bottlings are the only true expression of place coming out of the region. Historically, Champagne is a blended wine, and yes, in many cases, it is for this reason that it can develop a consistency of style, even to a certain degree with the vintage bottlings. Yet the vintage Champagne Cristal wines take it to another level when creating an intricately layered experience of those soils that initially made this region legendary. That is part of the reason why Cristal can shock the first-time drinker who is used to drinking a wide variety of top Champagnes, as it can come across as not being big enough or bold enough to knock one's socks off at the first sip. But it is intense and concentrated in ways like no other Champagne on this level, as its power is not in the fruit but in the intensity of terroir expression. Once a drinker surrenders to the unknown, a type of depth they have not experienced, they understand why some connoisseurs consider this Champagne to be in its own category. When it comes to a multidimensional expression of the sense of place from those extraordinary vineyards classified over 100 years ago, there is a strong argument that no other luxury Champagne can live up to Cristal. Bottles of Cristal Vertical of Champagne Cristal 2002 Champagne Cristal, Champagne, France: 55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay. Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon became the chef de cave in 1999, so he considers 2002 his 'Welcome to the Roederer family gift' as the vintage had almost perfect growing conditions. A gorgeous evolution that happened to this beauty over two decades with peach cobbler and lemon meringue flavors with a broad body and a creamy texture with crisp acidity highlighted by mineral aromas and a long finish with notes of hazelnut. 2012 Champagne Cristal, Champagne, France: 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. This is from a warmer vintage, yet one could not tell at this stage as Jean-Baptiste said that he thought that, through time, it would become bigger and richer, as that is what tends to happen with Cristal. Still, this vintage is returning to the heart of their vineyards with oyster shells and wet stones dominating with a touch of honeysuckle in the background and a mouthwatering acidity with a weighty yet linear-driven palate. 2008 Champagne Cristal, Champagne, France: 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. Jean-Baptiste compared 2008 to the iconic 1996 vintage. However, '96 is a controversial vintage - some note it is one of Champagne's best in modern history while others feel the wines were too austere with sky-rocketing acidity. But learning from the '96s, Jean-Baptiste decided to wait a week longer than 1996 to harvest this 2008. An addictive, fierce acidity with that Cristal minerality that intertwines itself in every aspect of the wine with a very lifted floral note and plenty of nectarine fleshy fruit to balance out the acidity that gives thrilling electricity to this vintage. 2016 Champagne Cristal, Champagne, France: 58% Pinot Noir and 42% Chardonnay. This vintage was challenging and broke many growers' backs as they battled a wet spring with mildew. Surprisingly, especially considering that all of the vineyards used for this vintage were farmed organically, it is an outstanding showing. There is a breathtaking purity; I would have never guessed this was from a vintage that battled mildew. The 2015 vintage received more fanfare as it was a riper vintage with few problems. Jean-Baptiste said that some challenging vintages, such as this 2016, get unfairly judged with a sweeping statement that all the Champagnes are lesser quality, but for those who dare, who are extremely vigilant with their practices in the vineyards, like Roederer, something special can be produced. And the results are indeed impressive. A nose of lemon blossom, white peaches and crumbled chalk with a marked acidity laced with a saline quality and a salivating finish. 2013 Champagne Cristal Rosé, Champagne, France: 55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay. This makes my list for one of the greatest Champagnes I have ever had… not just the greatest rosé but one of the greatest, period. I was not expecting such an experience since the 2013s were typically noted to be lovely in their youth yet subtle and not worth blockbuster status. But this 2013 evolved into such an exquisite example of what makes Cristal in a class of its own as the terroir is so defined and powerful with the right amount of fruit and acidity. Jean-Baptiste noted that making rosé for them is about adding another layer of terroir expression to the wine. Starting in 2008, with their new experimental winery, they began experimenting with a gentle "infusion" technique for the Pinot Noir grapes before the fermentation, allowing for more sense of place extraction from the skins without the astringency. Alluring bouquet of a labyrinth of aromas with cherry blossoms, wild strawberries, saline minerality and hint of marzipan dance and prance along the enthralling maze of flavors and textures that are lifted by an exhilarating acidity, which gives the wine a fierce tension and a very fine structure with bubbles that are so tiny that they caress like satin while still tantalizing with their hundreds of micro bursts along an extremely prolonged finish that keeps those delightful aromatics in one's head for several minutes. 2014 Champagne Cristal Rosé, Champagne, France: 55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay. A gorgeous nose with pear drop, peach tart and singed orange peel, and is open in its relative youth according to Cristal standards, yet the minerality of crushed rocks and pulverized chalk still dominates despite having a generous fruit flavor with a round body that has a long, flavorful finish, but the minerality is what stays with the taster the longest.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BIC: Disclosure Of Trading In Own Shares For May 2025
Disclosure Of Trading In Own SharesFor May 2025 Clichy, France – June 05, 2025 In compliance with general regulation on share buy-backs, Société BIC declares below the transactions made on its own shares for May 2025: No transactions for May 2025. Contacts Brice ParisVP Investor Relations +33 6 42 87 54 Investor Bethridge ToovellVP Global Communications+1 917 821 Isabelle de Segonzac Image 7, Press Relations contact+33 6 89 87 61 39isegonzac@ Agenda All dates to be confirmed First Half 2025 Results July 30, 2025 Third Quarter 2025 Net Sales October 28, 2025 About BIC A global leader in stationery, lighters, and shavers, BIC brings simplicity and joy to everyday life. For 80 years, BIC's commitment to delivering high-quality, affordable, and trusted products has established BIC as a symbol of reliability and innovation. With a presence in over 160 countries, and over 13,000 team members worldwide, BIC's portfolio includes iconic brands and products such as BIC® 4-Color™, BodyMark®, Cello®, Cristal®, Inkbox®, BIC Kids®, Lucky™, Rocketbook®, Tattly®, Tipp-Ex®, Wite-Out®, Djeep®, EZ Load™, EZ Reach®, BIC® Flex™, Soleil®, Tangle Teezer® and more. Listed on Euronext Paris and included in the SBF120 and CAC Mid 60 indexes, BIC is also recognized for its steadfast commitments to sustainability and education. For more, visit and to see BIC's full range of products visit Follow BIC on LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. Attachment BIC_Trading in own shares_MAY25
NDTV
25-05-2025
- NDTV
US Crypto Tycoon Drugs Tourist, Ties And Urinates On Him For Bitcoin Password
A Kentucky crypto millionaire accused of kidnapping and torturing an Italian man in a luxury Soho apartment to force him to reveal his Bitcoin password has been ordered imprisonment without bail. John Woeltz, 37, faces multiple charges including kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, assault, and criminal possession of a weapon. He could face up to 25 years in prison. The victim, 28-year-old Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan from Turin, Italy, is a crypto trader believed to be worth $30 million. He had travelled to the US on May 6, telling his family he was coming for tourism and language study, The NY Post reported, citing Italian media. Once he arrived at the Prince Street rental, which prosecutors described as a "crypto commune" with stripper poles and cases of Cristal (a brand of champagne), he was allegedly held against his will, tortured, and forced to give up access to his crypto fortune. Carturan was allegedly tied to a chair with electrical wire, tased while his feet were in water, urinated on, forced to take drugs, and cut on his legs and arms with a chainsaw. He had an Apple AirTag tied around his neck. Authorities found Polaroids showing Carturan with a gun to his head and smoking crack cocaine through a pipe. They also found night vision goggles, a bulletproof vest, ballistic helmets, firearms, and ammunition inside the apartment. T-shirts bearing his image with crack in his mouth were also recovered. Assistant District Attorney Michael Mattson told the court that Woeltz at one point "carried the victim to the top flight of stairs of the apartment in the compound and hung the victim over the ledge, after threatening to kill the victim if the victim did not provide the defendant with the victim's Bitcoin password." Carturan managed to escape on Friday morning by telling Woeltz he needed to enter the password into his laptop. When Woeltz turned away, Carturan, bloodied and barefoot, ran down the stairs and flagged down a traffic cop on the street. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital with injuries including a chainsaw wound to the arm and a head injury from being pistol-whipped. One of Woeltz's assistants, Beatrice Folchi, was initially arrested but later released after prosecutors declined to pursue charges immediately. At least one other suspect is still being sought. Woeltz is worth an estimated $100 million, law enforcement sources said. He was arraigned Saturday in Manhattan Criminal Court, where he answered a nearly inaudible "yes" when Judge Eric Schumacher asked if he had a gun. His lawyer later clarified that the weapon was in Kentucky, not New York. Woeltz owns a 150-acre property in Smithland, Kentucky, and reportedly travelled by private jet and helicopter. How he amassed his fortune is still unclear, but sources said he worked in crypto security and may have been involved in a hedge fund.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The High-Dollar Steak Kim Jong-Un Eats
Often referred to as a hermit kingdom due to its strict isolationist policies, North Korea remains an inscrutable nation to most people outside of the country. Its leader, Kim Jong-Un, who was preceded by grandfather Kim Il-Sung and father Kim Jong-Il, is just as inscrutable as the nation itself. We do know that Kim Jong-Un has been linked to a multitude of crimes against humanity, accused of assassinating family members for political gain, and opted to run North Korea as a totalitarian dictatorship, which means that the citizenry enjoy no personal freedoms and must fully abide by the strictures set by the government. We also know quite a bit about Kim Jong-Un's preferred foods, and unsurprisingly for a person born into such wealth and prosperity, the dictator has a taste for the finer things in life. This includes frequent meals featuring imported Kobe beef, much loved by Kim Jong-Un as well as his late father, Kim Jong-Il. While pricing varies, it's not uncommon for Kobe beef to cost as much as $500 per pound. According to a sushi chef that was previously employed by the pair, Kobe steaks were often accompanied by Cristal, a high-end brand of Champagne also known for its steep price tag. Other favorite indulgences of Kim Jong-Un include Emmental cheese and Parma ham as well as gold foil-wrapped cigarettes from iconic fashion brand Yves Saint Laurent. Read more: Martha Stewart: What She Really Eats Kobe beef is so beloved (and expensive) because it must meet several strict criteria to earn its lofty designation. Kobe beef must be derived from cattle of the Tajima bloodline of the Japanese Black breed from Japan's Hyogo Prefecture. Cattle must also be fed a special diet to facilitate exquisite marbling and earn a Beef Marble Score of 6 or greater. (This Japanese beef scoring system features a quality range of 3 to 12.) For Kim Jong-Un, who was estimated to have $5 billion in personal wealth in 2019, the high price of Kobe beef probably seems like a minor expense. However, when compared to the immense poverty affecting the North Korean people, the dictator's excesses are distinctly cruel and uncaring. Food insecurity is a global crisis, but the citizens of North Korea face insurmountable challenges due to the totalitarian government under which they subsist. As reported by the World Food Programme, 10.7 million people living in the country are underfed, while 18% of North Korean children exhibit health effects associated with chronic malnutrition. Food shortages are also common, as Kim Jong-Un is primarily concerned with maintaining his authority and accumulating more power instead of ensuring his people have the resources they need. While there's little the outside world can do to help people struggling within North Korea, Kim Jong-Un's actions show the dangers of what can happen when a dictator steeped in unbelievable privilege is afforded unlimited power. Read the original article on Mashed.
