Every drink has a story to tell: one of triumph, hope and passion. The same can be said for the Louis XIII Black Pearl AHD, the latest limited edition bespoke blend from the house of Remy Martin that pays tribute to the centennial birthday of its former president, André Hériard Dubreuil. Drawn from a single tierçon tucked away in the family reserve of the André Hériard Dubreuil cellar, this exquisite cognac comes in an equally elegant 35cl crystal decanter. Only 1,498 of these bespoke Baccarat decanters in the colour of steel have been crafted, and each of them is a work of art.
The spirit of André
The Louis XIII Black Pearl AHD is a sensory delight: a whiff of myrrh, a hint of dried roses and heady notes of leather, honey, plum, figs, cigar box, honeysuckle and passion fruit. The cognac has a fresh, fruity and intense earthy aroma. You can almost smell the woody undergrowth, mossy banks, tree bark, wet chalk and wild mushrooms, and even feel the chill in the air and the damp earth beneath your feet. This, after all, is this setting of the former chairman’s cellar. And the tierçon that was tapped to craft the Louis XIII Black Pearl AHD is set against a chalky wall, buried deep in the alcove of the reserve here.
Sometime in 2017, Cellar Master Baptiste Loiseau chanced upon this particular cask, and that’s how the story of the Louis XIII Black Pearl AHD took shape. Loiseau is only the fifth official cellar master in Remy Martin’s nearly 300-year-old span; he also happens to be the youngest, having taken over the reins in 2014 at the age of 34. He trained under Pierrette Trichet, the brand’s retiring cellar master who passed on the baton to him.
“Pierrette told me my first job was to think of the future cellar master. It’s something that is always on my mind. When I choose the eaux de vie, I am not only thinking of Remy Martin’s previous cellar masters and paying respect to them and their work, but of the future ones, too, who will finish the stories we’ve started,” he declares.
The fragrance of time
The personalised decanters have a timeless appeal. Seeking inspiration from a royal flask found in the battlefield of Jarnac in 1569, this crystal decanter is a stunner with intricate lacework, pearl inlays and palladium plating. Paul-Emile Remy Martin acquired the original flask in 1850. The limited-edition decanters have been painstakingly made by Baccarat, a renowned French crystal brand.
The Louis XIII Black Pearl AHD is priced at about MYR52,000 (recommended retail price) and is available only on request through the Louis XIII Concierge, reachable at cheryl.xie@louisxiii-cognac.com