In the land of eternal eau-de-vies, where brandies can live beyond a century, with historical references that remain just as vibrant as if it were frozen in time, there exists but one Cognac that is undoubtedly the most famous of them all - the Louis XIII.
The Louis XIII is by far and large the undisputed pinnacle of prestige Cognac - which is just as true even if one were to narrow the field to the region's four major grand marques. And whilst being the most recognised hallmark of any category is no small feat, this is especially laudable for Cognac, because this is the only region in the world where growers and distillers are one, where harvesting meets distilling, and the only place in the world where wines are unanimously distilled, made all the more special because like all winegrowing areas, harvest happens but once a year, and thus distilling the Cognac that would eventually make its way into Remy Martin's Louis XIII, at least after a minimum of 40 years and often beyond a century, too only happens once a year. And so the entire process taking place in Cognac (and hence the spirit is so named after its origins) is a wholly singular one that does not exist anywhere else in the world. For that reason, Cognacs have for centuries occupied a position of reverence, even amongst nobility and celebrities alike. It follows then that Louis XIII sits firmly at the top is an achievement that is unmatched in any category that else exists.
Remy Martin remains as one of the most enduring Cognac houses.
To start with, Louis XIII was first created in 1874 by one Paul-Emile Remy Martin, the fourth generation heir to the major Cognac house of the same name. Just 150 years prior, it was first generation Remy Martin, a vintner by trade, who had established the Cognac trading house, making it one of the oldest producers of Cognac still active today, having just recently celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2024. First-generation Remy Martin had displayed great talent for the making of eau-de-vie (or Water of Life as brandy is traditionally called), which would earn him a royal decree from King Louis XV allowing the house to expand the planting of new vineyards as a result of his superior spirits. He would subsequently pass along the family's Cognac house from one generation to the next until fourth-generation Paul-Emile Remy Martin would take over the reins in 1841. Under him, the Remy Martin brand would grow rapidly around the world, with exports to the United States and Asia opened up upon the pioneering foresight that Martin had to bottle his family's Cognac under its own name (as opposed to selling them by the barrel as was the standard practice of the time, where it would simply be tapped and sold in bottles that were filled by whichever merchant was stocking it) and also given its iconic Centaur emblem to go with every bottle filled.
Paul-Emile Remy Martin.
But that wasn't all, Martin was a visionary who saw in Cognac the potential and value of creating a centerpiece of luxury and prestige, and would thus on the occasion of his family's Cognac house's 150th anniversary celebrations decide to introduce the Louis XIII expression. As the story goes, Martin had searched his entire cellars for only the oldest and highest quality eau-de-vie which for him could only be produced in the uniquely chalky soils of Grande Champagne, the most prestigious of the Cognac region's six crus. He would name it after the 17th Century French King Louis XIII, who had been the first French monarch to officially recognise Cognac as its own class of brandy (and was also the reigning King when the Remy Martin family had first settled in Cognac), and would thus house this special cuvee in a Baccarat crystal decanter inspired by a 1569 metal flask recovered from the site of the Battle of Jarnac just outside Cognac that Martin had acquired, which he then had adorned with 8 fleur-de-lys motifs (lily flowers that were used by French kings of the past), an 18k gold plated neck and glass spikes that ran alongside the ridges on both sides of the decanter. Whilst the design has largely stayed consistent through the years, its exact details has been refined over time, with the expression at the time known as Grande Champagne, Tres Vieille, Age Inconnu, or "Grande Champagne Very Old – Age Unknown".
This would of course, as we know today, prove to be a great success and would over the next century and a half make its way across podiums and pedestals around the world, from the United States all the way to China, and at its height would even be showcased at the grand 1900 Universal Exposition in Paris (the Exposition Universelle), sharing the stage with the likes of the debut of the first ever escalator, the diesel engine and also the earliest versions of talking motion pictures, or cineorama. The Louis XIII Cognac would persist with its cult status into modernity having been featured in critical works of pop culture from literary classic The Great Gatsby to the cult film American Psycho. Today, Louis XIII is crafted by only its fifth cellar master in over 100 years, Baptiste Loiseau, who had served as an agricultural engineer prior to his appointment, reflecting the house's philosophy of elevage as defined by paying attention to the grape growing and harvesting, all the way to its fermentation, distillation, ageing and finally blending. As Louis XIII is today synonymous with being composed of over 1,200 eau-de-vies aged between 40 and 100 years, it is often touted by the Cognac-maker that much of the spirits made by its cellarmaster will ultimately outlive its maker who will never get to taste its final form, serving as a powerful message of the haloed importance of this continuous transmission of a lifetime's work from one hand to the next.
Now, even more than a century ago fourth-generation Paul-Emile Remy Martin had already recognised the complexity and longevity of the white Ugni Blanc grapes from the Grande Champagne cru of Cognac, with its deep yet uniquely soft chalk soils layered with clay that is at once well drained, which in turn encourages and allows for the vine's roots to penetrate deeply for water - the name "Champagne" which it shares with the region to the north most famous for its sparkling wines, in fact takes after the Italian region of Campania for which the Romans were reminded of when having reached the Champagne and Cognac regions of France. This is further compounded by the region's gentle and temperate climate accruing to its vicinity to the Atlantic Ocean, which in turn offers a confluence of exterior maritime and interior continental influences that together allow for the grapes grown in the region to achieve the high acidity needed for a century of ageing without the buttress of sulphur as is with still wines or residual sugar as is with sweet or fortified wines. Unlike still wines, which only go through fermentation and often retain some residual sugar, Cognacs are distilled to total dryness and without the use of sulphur. It is therefore the combination of quality Grande Champagne grapes, which develop great complexity through ultra-long ageing, and the unique conditions that make this ageing possible that allow cellarmasters to create blends of great sophistication. The humid environment results in a little Angel’s Share (the loss of alcohol as the spirit ages in barrels) while the ability to “freeze” ageing through the unique Cognac practice of storing the eau-de-vie in glass demijohns, kept in a dark cellar known as the paradis, allows the eaux-de-vie to be preserved at their optimum maturity. Together, these elements give cellarmasters the ability to put together complex and layered cuvee expressions.
And so each year, following the winegrowing season, Remy Martin and thus Louis XIII's cellarmaster heads to the vineyards - within their estate and across their network of over 800 growers to select from - to understand the fast-moving season, from which a determination is then made on the optimal harvesting time in order to achieve that high natural acidity needed to preserve the future Cognac, whilst also balancing for sugar concentration which will decide the final alcoholic proof. Through August, the cellarmaster watches for ripeness and acidity, and once ideal conditions are reached, a 3-week harvest season will then kick off. Upon harvesting at aromatic maturity, the grapes are pressed gently and allowed an extended fermentation of about 2 weeks. The resulting wines are deliberately kept low proof and acidic at 7-10% ABV (which will produce the optimal spirit when distilled to 70% ABV), which are then continually assessed across parcels with distillation adjusted for each vinification. Double distillation in copper pot stills is then done as per Charentes tradition, here with the lees included to produce greater aromatics. Distillation runs from late October to mid-March the following year, with an emphasis on minimising delays to preserve freshness, with then over 1,000 blind tastings done on the unaged eau-de-vie. By April, the annual harvesting and distilling season is finally completed and the brandies are left to age.
Just as crucially, what happens to the Cognac in its ageing is just as important to achieving the end result as how it was farmed and distilled, considering that the Cognac spends most of its life ageing than anything else. And so all eau-de-vie produced first goes into new oak barrels for a brief priming phase, before then being racked into older oak barrels for a longer and more gentle ageing period. Here is then where Louis XIII takes it to another level with the use of special French Limousin oak tierçon casks that are specifically coopered for the maison. Tierçons - larger and taller, with thinner staves as compared to standard barriques - were originally designed for transporting Cognac on horse drawn carriages, but have long fallen out of favour due to cost (commercial production ceased in 1917). As tierçon casks require more craftmanship in handling their larger yet thinner structure, are made with only French Limousin oak, and can last for over a century of use, they have to therefore be specially made by Louis XIII so as to allow for the optimal interaction between the spirit and air during its long ageing process, with also the ideal porosity and tannins.
Before the casks are even made, Remy Martin's cellarmaster must consult with lumbers and coopers on the chemical balance of the tierçon wood which is grown and harvested from the local Charente forests. After six decades of growth on Remy Martin's own parcel of land, only 5% of the trees will make the cut to become tierçon casks and will thus be allowed to grow for up to at least 100 years before they are coopered - for every 800 trees planted, only 40 will be used. These oversized tierçon casks, holding 580 litres with just 0.6 inches of thickness (the standard, smaller barriques are 1 inch thick and only hold 225 litres), must still be first seasoned with other Cognacs before they can eventually be used, where they will then be left to age in varying parts of Remy Martin's cellars so as to allow the different microclimates to produce differing styles of Cognac that make up the final 1,200 components of Louis XIII. Where standard Cognac is aged for just 2 years, Louis XIII Cognacs are 40 years at the youngest and go up to 100 years old, with the house even still holding on to tierçon casks that date back to 1744, just two decades after Remy Martin was first established.
Finally then, selecting from a deep library of Cognacs of every flavour profile imaginable, Remy Martin's cellarmaster will then select up to 1,200 components that will become what is known as Louis XIII. This is done with the help of a panel of five experts who will not only blind taste the unaged eau-de-vie to decide their ageing regime in order to eventually become a good component for the blend, but whom will also help to compare the newly made sample blend with previous editions before eventually scaling it up for the final blending and bottling. The goal for the legendary cuvee's cellarmaster is for the Cognac to express its signature aromas, flavours and textures, all whilst maintaining consistency with its long lineage of every blend that has come before it. Ultimately, of all the Cognac produced by Remy Martin at their Juillac-Le-Coq distillery, just less than 0.5% yielded will become Louis XIII.
Into modernity, Louis XIII's cellarmasters have begun to identify special single casks which have come to be bottled under several limited edition releases of Louis XIII variants, for example the Rare Cask 42.1, 42.6, 43.8 and also the Black Pearl, amongst others. Louis XIII has also made a push to expand its range of formats, going beyond the classic 70cl to also the very popular 5cl miniature cheekily named "The Drop", along with a 1.5 litre magnum and even 3 litre jeroboams and 6 litre mathusalems. Increasingly so, the house has also begun to put added emphasis on adopting sustainable practices, thus being the first in Cognac to achieve the HEV certification, which is the highest award for environmental friendliness, and is on track to convert all its vineyards to sustainable practices by 2028.
And so with all that said, let's finally taste what the world's most famous Cognac - the Remy Martin Louis XIII - is like and perhaps more importantly, find out if it lives up to its hype!
Let's go!
Cognac Review: Louis XIII Cognac, Remy Martin, 40% ABV
Tasting Notes
Colour: Manuka Honey
Aroma: Dark and layered with rich red fruit depths and florals. Opens with a medley of stewed stone and orchard fruits: raisins, plums, prunes, figs, dark cherries, poached pears, with a rich sweetness of caramel and molasses. There’s a rather distinguished integrated rancio-nutty character only found in old Cognacs, moving through Oolong tea earthiness, a touch of petrichor, then old polished furniture wood, dark walnuts, truffles, cigar boxes and a light porcini mushroom savouriness. There’s also a layer of perfumed florals providing some lift: fresh red roses, honeysuckles and lilacs.
Taste: Beautifully mature and integrated across the dimensions of dried fruit, oak and nuttiness. It comes in on the warm, darkly fruity and herbaceous side. Stewed dark fruits remain: plums, figs, dates, dark cherries and dried apricot with candied orange peels and polished grape skin tannins. Layered on is a liquorice-like herbal sweetness, camphor, generous bunch of mint leaves and some sweet tobacco ribbons. The palate is medium bodied, warm with sweet spiced notes as cloves, nutmeg and vanilla. By mid-palate the rancio begins to increasingly assert its nuttiness, with toasted walnuts, almonds and a touch of a turfy mossy earthiness.
Finish: A very, very persistent finish that continues to unfold. Stewed plums, sweet-tart haw berries (with some stemmy nuances) molasses and lasting touch of waxed leather with lighter florals now - honey suckle, jasmine and white roses. A touch of light tobacco leaves, cocoa powder, and spices that hold right till the far end.
My Thoughts
This is a wonderfully stately, integrated and seamlessly unfolding old Cognac. It’s impressive how it harmoniously integrates the various dimensions of dried fruit, oak, florals and oxidative rancio savouriness with just the right proportions of each. Not only does this show a very impressive degree of complexity, it harmoniously interplays them. And then finally there’s the extraordinarily long finish that continues to unfold generously over 15 seconds.
To experience what decades of maturation with multi-generational maison-style blending does to a spirit, this is the exemplar, the par excellence of maison-blended old Cognac. It’s unmistakable.
@CharsiuCharlie
