Rémy Martin Cognac is one of the most famous, prestigious and biggest of Cognac houses, along other luxury brands such as Hennessy, Martell, or Courvoisier.
Rémy Martin specialises in crafting high-end Cognacs made exclusively from grapes grown in the heart of the Cognac region of France, from the Fine Champagne (blend of Petite and Grande Champagne).
Rémy Martin X.O. or Extra Old is a blend of up to 400 different old eaux-de-vie (grape brandies) aged in oak barrels for at least 10 years. Most of the brandies in Rémy Martin XO are decade-old Cognacs.
Learn about what is Rémy Martin XO, how it tastes and how it smells, with this full Cognac review video including tasting notes, Cognac-making information and more.
Watch Rémy Martin Cognac X.O. Review Tasting in Video
Rémy Martin XO Review Notes
XO has a majority of Grande Champagne (80%-85%) with 15% Petite Champagne, and is a blend of up to 400 different eaux-de-vies of different ages, the youngest being at least 10 yers old (legal requirements for an X.O. is 6 years old).
The color is very dense, quite dark for a spirit. This comes from the aging in Limousin French oak barrels for many years. A beautiful, dark, amber, golden color.
The aromas are magnificent, they are captivating, they are enchanting. It’s a lot of blonde raisin, sultanas, some white flower, with a bit of lily, of elderflower. Touches of orange peel, bergamot, like a bergamot tea. Vanilla and caramel. It’s very powerful and pungent!
Tasting the spirit transports you into a different universe. There is so much going on, is this a big explosion of flavors on your palate.
A big, round, soft body, oily texture, with a big burst of Christmas pudding sweet spices, nutmeg and clove, vanilla and caramel, with a bit of coconut. It’s all very smooth, very soft, very elegant. Loads of citrus and confit citrus peel. It’s like tasting the most enchanting, the most powerful and pungent of all Christmas puddings you’ve ever tasted.
Full of dried fruits, sultanas and fig, dark cocoa and licorice. A rare tasting experience.
Take a Tour of Rémy Martin Distillery & Food Pairing Experience in Video
How much is Remy Martin Cognac?
The retail price of Rémy Martin XO (pricier than VSOP or 1738 Accord Royal) averages around:
$160 USD in the United States (USA)
£118 GBP in the United Kingdom (UK)
€130 Euros in Europe (EUR)
About Rémy Martin Cognac
The specificity of Remy Martin is that they only use wine, or grapes produced in the Fine Champagne area (Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne).
The Fine Champagne is called Fine Champagne because the terroir and the soils very much resemble the ones found in Champagne, France. They are chalky, limestone-rich soils. This gives the finest, the most refined, the subtlest eaux-de-vie and the most subtle brandies.
They also insist and emphasize on using small copper stills because they find that the expression, the refinement of their eaux-de-vies is better when using small traditional copper stills rather than larger ones.
A few words from Rémy Martin brand: “1724 marked the beginning of Rémy Martin, the only major cognac house to have been founded by a winegrower. Fifty years ago, Rémy Martin created the first ever winegrowing cooperative in the Cognac region, the Alliance Fine Champagne. Today, nine-hundred Grande and Petite Champagne growers provide Rémy Martin with a selection of eaux-de-vie in an equitable partnership. Rémy Martin has been a family business for three centuries, run by two families who share the same values: the Rémy Martin and the Heriard Dubreuil families. Above all, Rémy Martin is a company where savoir-faire, family land, experience and formulas have been passed down from one generation to the next. It is a company driven by an entrepreneurial spirit, solidarity and long-term vision, both within the company and in relations with external partners. Since 1724, Rémy Martin has nurtured outstanding talent: masters of winegrowing, distilling, and blending like André Giraud, Pierrette Trichet or today’s Cellar Master Baptiste Loiseau. He and his tasting committee are the guardians of the house’s heritage. The House of Rémy Martin also has a tradition of entrepreneurs such as Paul-Emile Rémy Martin and André Renaud whose extensive knowledge of cognac and bold approaches helped them shape their unique vision.”
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