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SB visits… La Maison Rémy Martin, Cognac

As the House of Rémy Martin celebrates its tricentenary, we travelled to Cognac, France, to visit the brand’s prestigious home, and speak with global executive director Amaury Vinclet about its opening.

Rémy Martin
The maison in the heart of Cognac boasts more than 500 square metres of scenographic space

In the heart of Cognac in the south-west of France is La Maison Rémy Martin – also referred to as The House of Rémy Martin – a 19th-century mansion that is the gatekeeper to three centuries of history and heritage.

After an extensive three-year renovation, La Maison Rémy Martin finally reopened to the public in May this year, just in time for the brand to celebrate its momentous milestone. Prior to touring the mansion, which boasts more than 500 square metres of scenographic space, I sat down with Amaury Vinclet, the brand’s global executive director, to discuss the importance of the space as a brand home for Rémy Martin.

“When you turn 300 years, people are interested to get to know more your culture as a brand. And it was an interesting momentum for the brand to tell the history of the house,” he says, remarking that in the six months since opening, the house has received “incredible reviews” from visitors. “We just won the Best of Wine Tourism award, which is very prestigious – this is the most incredible award among all the Cognac houses.”

Vinclet notes visitors have not just been dedicated consumers of Rémy Martin, but that the general Cognac tourism has contributed to visitor numbers to the maison. “We have a lot of visitors coming to visit Cognac that stop at Rémy Martin as well. So it’s not only people we target, but we have a lot of traffic coming from people who want to visit the destination. We have a lot of people from the UK, Belgium, and the Netherlands visiting the house,” however, he says, the impact of travel restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic has also meant that the ‘staycation’ market has grown in recent years, and an increasing number of French tourists have visited the house since its opening: “People start to look back at what is local, and rediscover things. It’s quite interesting,” he says.

300th anniversary tour

Rémy Martin
Hundreds of artefacts are displayed around the house

Across three floors, visitors are invited to discover the brand’s evolution by venturing through multiple rooms that house hundreds of collector’s items, including the the royal agreement of 1738, and a selection of artwork and sculptures by acclaimed artists.

Being the tricentenary of the brand, we were taken on the 300th anniversary tour by one of the diligent historians responsible for sourcing many of the artefacts found throughout the house. This tour, offered to the public for €35 (US$38) per person in either French or English, is available to join year-round, and lasts approximately two hours. It includes a tour of both the historic house and the Isly cellar, located in an adjacent courtyard. A tasting of Rémy Martin’s VSOP and XO Cognacs is also offered to those who wish to participate, and is accompanied by gourmet appetisers.

Throughout the tour, it’s hard not to be astounded at the volume of artefacts on display, and the quality with which they have been preserved. Crisp diary pages void of even the slightest crinkle are presented behind glass, covered in neat cursive that, given the writing style of the time, is mostly illegible (even if you can read French), while old marketing posters from the mid-century are hung on the walls and in books available to flip through.

Rémy Martin
The Rémy Martin centaur is represented in various art forms around the house

We were given an introduction to the cellar masters of the past and present, and shown the history of Louis XIII Cognac. Furthermore, the evolution of the brand’s logo, the iconic centaur shooting for the stars while his feet remain firmly planted on the ground, was showcased in a darkened room as our guide explained the changes it had seen over the years.

More depictions of the centaur can be seen in a small gallery on top floor, where works by the likes of Chagall, Dalí, and Niki de Saint Phalle adorn the walls.

The art continues into the house’s atrium, where Rémy Martin has teamed up with designer Charles Kaisin to create a mesmeric and weightless work of art made out of 1,724 gilded pieces to represent the centaur and the brand’s year of foundation.

Of course, nothing highlights the passage of time quite like seeing some of the house’s oldest bottles on display. From decanter shapes to label designs, and limited edition releases to experimental bottlings, all can be seen throughout the house in the various rooms, including one library that was exclusively shown to us, displaying some of the house’s most precious bottles that date back to the First World War.

Rémy Martin
Charles Kaisin’s sculpture will be displayed in the museum’s atrium until 28 June 2025

Opulence revealed

Added onto our tour was another new experience that is offered by the house.

Rémy Martin
The Opulence table features delights from across France

The Opulence Masterclass is an unforgettable sensory experience that takes place once a week, upon request, at a cost of €100 (US$108) per person.

After a tour of the house, guests are welcomed into a room where a large, round table takes centre stage, laden with delicacies sourced from across France that have been chosen to complement Rèmy Martin’s XO Cognac. From freshly baked baguettes cooked at Cognac’s finest boulangerie, to iconic regional specialities like cannelé de Bordeaux, as well as local French cheeses, speciality cakes, candied fruits, decadent chocolates and cured French meats.

We were invited to work our way around the table, sampling all of the delights as we go while sipping on a glass of XO. A true mark of how tastes and flavours impact difference palates, each member of the group found one particular item on the table complemented the liquid best. For me, the candied orange peel made the citrus notes of the Cognac sing, while others found an organic honey sourced from one of the house’s partners brought out the roundness in the spirit.

For others, the creaminess of the cheese smoothed-out the XO’s texture, while its cinnamon notes were brought to the fore with a nibble on a slice of sponge cake.

Needless to say, anyone who plans to partake in this opulent tour should probably skip breakfast.

Beyond Cognac

Cognac cellars
Rémy Martin’s cellars house 140,000 casks of Cognac

Our time in Cognac extended beyond the maison and its museum. Over our two-day visit, we also journeyed to the brand’s Merpins site to explore its 32 cellars, so vast it can be toured by miniature train for €25 (US$27) per person.

Here, we got an insight into how Rèmy Martin’s Fine Champagne eaux-de-vie is aged, and walked among some of the 140,000 casks that are resting in the cellars, nosing a few as we went.

We also travelled to the Juillac-le-Coq distillery for a tour of the stills and a masterclass into the same eaux-de-vie we had experienced earlier in the day, this time in its pre-aged, freshly distilled form. Visiting in October, we found ourselves in the limbo between the grape harvest and the first distillation of the season, which once started, will continue through until the spring.

This is where we also learned about Rémy Martin’s relationship with its winegrowers.

To ensure a consistent supply of eaux-de-vie that can meet the demand of the brand, while also protecting the winegrowers who previously had no guarantee of stable income, late owner André Hériard Dubreuil encouraged them to join hands and work not as suppliers, but in partnership with the maison. In 1965, he signed a contract with 14 distillers to deliver the finest quality eaux-de-vie for three years at a clear, pre-declared price – a win-win strategy that meant the winegrowers gained access to the added value of ageing and were able to project themselves in the future.

To this day, the eaux-de-vie that will go on to become Rémy Martin Cognac, is provided by the brand’s viticulture partners, and this collaborative effort also ensures responsible farming practices are followed.

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