In an exceptional collection launching in early 2024, Maison Martell pays homage to the French art de vivre through the country’s most prestigious châteaux – starting with Maison Martell’s historic Château de Chanteloup.
A golden age of art de vivre, golden age of cognac
Maison Martell presents L’Or de Jean Martell – Réserve du Château, an exquisite collection representing the culmination of a quest for excellence that began when Jean Martell founded his eponymous cognac house in 1715. The very same year saw the death of Louis XIV, the Sun King, marking a period often considered the golden age of the French art de vivre, epitomised through its dazzling, and often gilded, châteaux.
In this way, the collection pays tribute to the French art de vivre through a selection of these iconic treasures of the country’s architectural heritage echoing the savoir-faire for which Maison Martell has been renowned for over three centuries. Inspired by Jean Martell’s visionary approach, the new collection is also a celebration of the golden age of cognac. It is not only an evocation of Maison Martell’s beginnings. It also honours Jean Martell’s dedication to the careful ageing of eaux-de-vie, allowing spirits to reach aromatic fullness, or their very own “golden age”. For every edition of L’Or de Jean Martell – Réserve du Château, Martell Cellar Master Christophe Valtaud will craft a new blend for each edition inspired by a prestigious French château. They will be released yearly in extremely limited quantities of just 1,000 individually numbered decanters.
A monument of blending
Incarnating the virtuosity of the Martell Cellar Master, L’Or de Jean Martell – Réserve du Château blends more than 1,400 eaux-de-vie from the four finest terroirs in the Cognac region. Each of these eaux-de-vie has been specially selected by Cellar Master Christophe Valtaud and has aged in fine-grained oak barrels to the point of aromatic plenitude. For each new edition, he will enrich this complex blend with a careful selection of eaux-de-vie from years evoking the history of the chosen château and that of Maison Martell.
After the blending process, L’Or de Jean Martell – Réserve du Château is further aged in barrels made of 300-year-old oak, sourced from France’s most ancient forests. The ageing process takes place first in a historic, dedicated cellar in Cognac, and for its final period of maturation, the cognac rests in a château.
The first edition of the collection, released in 2024, honours to the Château de Chanteloup, the historic home of the Martell family. Situated in the heart of the iconic Borderies terroir – the Maison’s signature – Chanteloup embodies the generosity and refinement for which the House is renowned. For this premiere edition, the final step of the ageing process has taken place at the Château de Chanteloup. In the words of Cellar Master Christophe Valtaud, when you hold a bottle of L’Or de Jean Martell – Réserve du Château de Chanteloup, “you have in your hands a real treasure – a cognac that represents a quest for excellence spanning 300 years.”
An elevated service ritual for a rare sensory experience
Opening with an explosion of delicate floral notes, L’Or de Jean Martell – Réserve du Château de Chanteloup marks an extraordinary sensory journey from start to finish. The notes of iris, wild carnation and honeysuckle merge into sweet, rich aromas of red and black fruit, notably cherry and blackcurrant, heightened by a hint of spice. As the cognac evolves, aromas of earth and rancio come to the fore, while fragrant notes of sandalwood and cedar recall the casks made of 300-year-old French oak in which the cognac rests.
Martell has collaborated with alchemist of joy, Maison Baccarat to create an exquisite crystal decanter. Together, Maisons Martell and Baccarat, two iconic houses of French luxury and craftsmanship, represent the epitome of excellence à la française. Evoking a single, pure drop of cognac, this elegant and exclusive crystal creation, complements the richness and refinement of the blend within.
Inside a beautifully crafted wooden box, the decanter, whose neck is embellished with 19-carat gold – rests on a gilded pedestal. A golden backdrop illustrates the story of Maison Martell and of the French art-de-vivre. Two stoppers are included, one for transportation and one for display, and a product booklet, retracing the rich story of L’Or de Jean Martell – Réserve du Château, accompanies the set. With its minimalist design, the full ensemble breaks with convention, creating a prestigious service ritual which intensifies the sense of anticipation.
About Maison Martell
The oldest of the great cognac houses, founded by Jean Martell in 1715, Maison Martell is renowned throughout the world for the finesse and elegance of its cognacs, the result of a legacy of savoir-faire handed down through nine generations. Together with a passion for its craft and a profound attachment to the terroir, Maison Martell is defined by the audacity with which it has challenged convention to create new expressions of cognac, including the icon Martell Cordon Bleu in1912. The free spirit of the House is symbolised by its historic emblem: the swift.
