For 300 years, Martell has been blending cross vineyard eau de vie and for the first time, Cognacs reflecting the characters of the specific terroir are released, offering the world a taste of a deconstructed Martell.
Cognacs are crafted from eau de vie distilled from grapes sourced exclusively from specified vineyard areas in the Cognac region. These include Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Borderies, Fins Bois, Bon Bois, and Bois Ordinaire. Cognac houses, the producers of this French brandy in the region, take pride in their distinctive blends, with each brand's master blender tasked with ensuring the final products reflect the brand's identity.
[Image source: Martell]
Martell’s Cognac uses grape varietals only from Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Borderies and Fins Bois. In April 2024, Martell launched a series of Single Cru Cognacs, each expression is a blend of eau de vie from one single instead of multiple vineyards, namely, cru.
In search for the eau de vie that best represents each cru, Martell’s Cellar Master Christophe Valtaud is put to the task and fewer than 400 of the 11,000 eaux-de-vie available to him in the Martell reserves was selected to create the Martell Single Cru range.
“… my aim was to reveal the richness and diversity of the very finest crus. My hope is that this aromatic exploration of the Cognac region will speak to adventurous cognac drinkers, opening their minds and palates to new tastes, and enabling them to build their own personal collection. One which reflects their preferences and the pleasure of discovery,” said the master cellar in a press release.
Three editions structured in an ascending manner for the limited release are the Discovery Edition, Aged Edition and Vintage Edition, and only accounts for 1% of Martell’s entire production (13.5 million litres a year).
Martell Aged Edition [Images source: Martell]
Official notes
Martell Single Cru – Discovery Edition
Aged for a minimum 4 years, this collection is crafted from eaux-de-vie sourced from a single cru in order to reveal the authentic taste and unique personality of each.
Martell Single Cru 100% Fins Bois - Invigorates the senses with lush and juicy fruit, for a vibrant, fragrant sensation on the palate whilst
Martell Single Cru 100% Petite Champagne - Intense and spicy, bursting with warm spices and rich nuts.
Martell Borderies - Has notes of sweet fruit and subtle florals, leaving a delicious impression of fullness.
Martell Single Cru – Aged Edition
Chosen from the two crus singled out by Martell’s founder Jean Martell in the 18th century as the best for aging. Grand Champagne eau de vie represented in XO expression and Borderies in XXO released in small batches yearly and individually numbered.
Martell Single Cru XO Grande Champagne - Reveals the full potential of this terroir. With young Grande Champagne eaux-de-vie, the impression is predominantly one of power and structure. With older eaux-de-vie, this cognac is enriched with notes of nuts and dried fruit, as well as overtones of wood, reaching a perfect balance between power and fruitiness.
Martell Single Cru XXO Borderies - Blended from eaux-de-vie that have attained their aromatic plenitude. Expressing all the subtlety and complexity of the Borderies cru at an ideal stage of the ageing process for this terroir, Martell Single Cru XXO Borderies demonstrates richness and fullness, overflowing with luscious fruity notes.
Martell Single Cru – Vintage Edition
A demonstration of the cellar master’s savoir-faire by identifying the eau de vie that reveals the nature’s finest, purest and rarest quality affected by a rare climatic event only happens once a year (like the Japanese “shun” during the 2-week Hanami season in revealing the best the nature has to offer). Released yearly, the exceptionally limited Vintage Edition is a single eau de vie from a single cru, in a single year presenting in a numbered bottle from the very last barrels of these rare eau de vie for the collectors.
[Image source: Martell]
Martell Single Cru Borderies 1999
Borderies eau-de-vie selected from the Gallienne estate, the emblematic vineyard of the Martell family, and produced in 1999, a challenging year in terms of climate, which resulted in lower volumes at harvest, but increased the quality and rarity of the grapes. In February 2000, immediately after distillation, the eau-de-vie was transferred to fine-grained oak barrels, ageing for 23 years to attain its aromatic plenitude. Martell Single Cru Borderies 1999 offers a complete organoleptic experience, representing the purest expression of the best of the Borderies terroir in that particular year. Characteristic notes of candied fruit and linden blossom are complemented by vibrant hints of citrus, while the palate demonstrates extraordinary smoothness, with a rich, fruity dimension.
Martell Single Cru Discovery Edition and Aged Edition are available now at select retail stores and outlets; Martell Single Cru Vintage Edition is available from May 2024 onward and is available at select retail outlets and via Le Cercle.
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