REMY MARTIN and LOUIS XIII COGNAC

Another day of blue skies.  We haven't seen a cloud now for four days.  Lunch was across the street from the city center, Le Coq d'Or, recommended by the hotel:

I had foie gras with a rose' and the the best duck preparation ever, with a Bordeaux:

Why was the duck so good?  Most are doused in some sauce or prepared in a way that imparts special flavors.  This one was just fried or grilled with a little salt.  I like to eat poultry with my fingers anyway, so the shape made for finger-licking-good pieces.

Then the reason we are in Cognac, a personal tour through Remy Martin:

The company was founded in 1724 by P-E. Remy Martin (pronounced LRamie Macton).  Their VSOP (Very Superior Old Pale, $40) is the best selling "common" cognac sold in the world.  Their XO (Extra Old, $200) is a blend of wines from 400 producers.  They have about 10 different grades, and their noted cognac is Louis XIII, which I bought for $2500 a few years ago, and perhaps can still be had for $2500 at Bev Mo.  However, Margot indicated that the current price is around $4000.  In 1980 Remy Martin was the first foreign wine maker to joint-venture in China.

Remy Martin's cognac comes from Ugni Blanc (Trebbiano in Italy), a sour-tasting grape of high acidity.  Cognac is only produced in Cognac.  The world-over, the final product is known as brandy.

Our tour of the facility was short, but we had two separate tastings.  First, we were told that after the Ugni Blanc wine is produced, it is distilled, and the distillate distilled a second time.

Here are the stages, with cognac-masters in the back:

We were also educated on how to make the kegs:

I asked why go through all the bother of shaping the oak through heat and water when they could just as well use a cylindrical shape.  Margot indicated that barrels are easier to roll.  What about stainless steel tanks into which oak pieces are added?  Anyway, there remains a lot of tradition in the making of cognac.

The process itself occurs at a separate site, so we mostly looked at where the Louis X111 was stored. Turns out there are all kinds of secretive things happening here.  This to come.

There was some art:

Then into their elegant tasting room.  She poured generously of their XO, and provided goose foie gras pate' topped with duck and a chocolate pastry.  The main learning experience is that we were instructed not to swirl cognac.  The liquid is supposed to be gently circled in your tilted glass.

Their product display:

Then the Louis the Thirteen special tour, only the three of us, including Margot.  We went to a special area where we couldn't take any photos.  She opened a keg and sucked out around 10 ounces of cognac soon to be marketed.  We carried that around in our glasses as we toured.  She opened a door and said that this room is visited only 13 times per year, and we were being specially honored, possibly because of Mystery Lady.  Then again, perhaps because of the macadamia nut candy gift.  Only a few staff members have been allowed to enter.  This was the room that protected all their original products and bottles of historical significance.  Even Jeroboams and Methuselahs of Louis XIII.

At the end we came to a copy of a Louis XIII magnum.  Three were just sold at a charity auction in Hong for $558,000.  This was supposedly a record-breaking sale.  The funds were donated to the Film Foundation founded by Martin Scorsese.

Remy Martin was a three-minute walk from our hotel.  Martell (marktel) is less than 5-minutes away.  A few more minutes away are Hennessey (ehnasee), Otard and Camus (kehmyou):

Another fantastic day and ideal climax to our Champagne, Bordeaux and Cognac journey.  Tomorrow, back to Charles de Gaulle Airport, then, the next day to Hawaii.

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