Louis XIII is the top of the Rémy Martin range, a Cognac blended from grapes grown on the chalk soils of the Cognac region and drawn from a single estate's reserve of aged eaux-de-vie. It is a blend, not a vintage — assembled across many years of stock rather than pulled from one harvest.
- Cognac, France — chalk soils of the region.
- Rémy Martin, one of the major Cognac houses.
- 40% ABV, 700ml.
- Blended from aged eaux-de-vie, not a single vintage.
How it is made
Cognac is distilled from white grapes — Ugni Blanc dominates the region — in copper Charentais pot stills, twice, then aged in oak. The appellation is strictly delimited: only grapes grown and wine distilled within the Cognac region can carry the name, and the spirit must spend at least two years in wood before release. In practice, the great houses age far longer, and a blend like this one is assembled from stocks that have spent decades in cask.
How it tastes
Rich and complex, with myrrh, honey, immortelle, plum and candied fruit layered over subtle oak and spice. The finish is long and elegant — the kind of length that comes from old eaux-de-vie rather than high alcohol.
Good to know
Cognac's chalk soils — the same craie that runs under Champagne — are one of the few things the two regions share. Ugni Blanc, the workhorse grape, is deliberately neutral and acidic: it makes a thin, sharp wine that is poor to drink and ideal to distil, because it carries acidity and little else into the still.
Contains alcohol.
