Maison Martell Presents the Martell Single Cru Collection: A Never-before Aromatic Exploration of the Cognac Region

A few days ago, I was invited to an exclusive tasting session at The Chamber, Starhill in KL for the newly introduced Martell Single Cru collection by Maison Martell. The tasting session was conducted by Martell Brand Ambassador – Éloi Parent and I've explored a lot of knowledge about the Martell Single Cru collection from him.

This is a significant milestone in Maison Martell's history spanning over 300 years in that — for the first time—every cognac in the collection is crafted with eaux-de-vie sourced from a single terroir. Crafted by Cellar Master Christophe Valtaud, the Martell Single Cru Collection is rare, comprised of only eaux-de-vie that can give the most precise personality, aroma, and ageing potential, and most authentic expression of each terroir; a process so rigorous that Valtaud retains fewer than 400 of the 11,000 eaux- de-vie available to him in the Martell reserves.

Martell Brand Ambassador – Éloi Parent at the grand launch event of Martell Single Cru collection

Structured in three ascending editions, right up to a selection of rare or extra-rare vintages, The Martell Single Cru Collection will be enriched over time, with each new release representing a fresh discovery of the House’s terroirs, an exploration of new taste sensations.

The Discovery Edition: An introduction to the main crus of Cognac region

The Discovery Edition offers an ideal introduction and a perfect starting point to the specificity of the terroirs of Cognac. Each of the three cognacs is sourced from one of the three main Cognac crus: Fin Bois, Borderies and Petite Champagne. Each cru is associated with a specific taste and aromatic profile, resulting from a variety of factors, including geographic location, soil composition, climate and exposure.

● Borderies: The signature cru of Maison Martell since 1715, produces subtle, elegant eaux-de-vie with luscious aromas of flowers and candied fruit.

● Fins Bois: With its reddish clay and limestone soils, is known for its light, airy eaux-de-vie with an aromatic profile of fresh fruit, in particular pear and peach.

● Petite Champagne: With greyish and chalky soils, produces fine eaux-de-vie which offers structure and length on the palate. They are distinguished by notes of nuts, red and dried fruit.

Martell Single Cru Fins Bois invigorates the senses with lush, juicy fruit, for a vibrant, fragrant sensation on the palate, Martell Single Cru Petite Champagne is intense and spicy, bursting with warm spices and rich nuts, while Martell Borderies rolls over the tongue with sweet fruit and subtle florals, leaving a delicious impression of fullness. Martell Cellar Master, Christophe Valtaud has crafted three cognacs from eaux-de-vie sourced from a single cru in order to reveal the authentic taste and unique personality of each. Due to the rarity of the Borderies cru, the Martell Borderies is more exclusive within the Discovery Edition. This translates into a limited number of bottles released compared to the Martell Single Cru Fins Bois and Petite Champagne.

My personal favourite is the Petite Champagne as which is a little sweet and spicy which goes very well on the rocks.

Aged Edition: A journey through the most prestigious crus of the Cognac region

The exploration continues with the Martell Single Cru Aged Edition, featuring eaux-de-vie from the two most exclusive Cognac terroirs—Borderies and Grande Champagne, which were singled out by Jean Martell himself as early as the 18th century. For the Aged Edition, Christophe Valtaud has made a precise selection of eaux-de-vie which not only express the essence of each prestigious terroir, but are also remarkable for their age. An eau-de-vie evolves throughout the ageing process, and these two cognacs have benefited from many years of ageing to develop new organoleptic properties, attaining an aromatic richness that is exceptional in the case of an XO, and reaches a form of plenitude for an XXO.

We are also being offered with the Martell Single Cru XO Grande Champagne and instantly it became my top favourite for the evening as it is very well balanced and smooth.

Martell Single Cru XO Grande Champagne reveals the full potential of this terroir. With young Grande Champagne eaux-de-vie, the impression is predominantly one of power and structure. With older eaux-de-vie, this cognac is enriched with notes of nuts and dried fruit, as well as overtones of wood, reaching a perfect balance between power and fruitiness.

Martell Single Cru XXO Borderies is blended from eaux-de-vie that have attained their aromatic plenitude. Expressing all the subtlety and complexity of the Borderies cru at an ideal stage of the ageing process for this terroir, Martell Single Cru XXO Borderies demonstrates incomparable richness and fullness, overflowing with luscious fruity notes.

Vintage Edition: The exceptional expression of a single terroir and single year

With the Vintage Edition, the exploration of Maison Martell’s terroirs reaches its culmination. This exceptional cognac represents the encounter between a terroir and a year, with its specific climatic conditions – a rare event, in that it only happens once. Here, the Cellar Master’s savoir-faire consists in defining the point at which an eau-de-vie is ready to reveal nature’s finest, purest and rarest qualities at a given moment. Every year, a new cognac will be added to the Vintage Edition: a single eau-de-vie, sourced from a single terroir, in a single year.

To start the Vintage Edition, Valtaud selected a remarkable Borderies eau-de-vie from the Gallienne estate, the emblematic vineyard of the Martell family. It was produced in 1999, a challenging year in terms of climate, which resulted in lower volumes at harvest, but increased the quality and rarity of the grapes. In February 2000, immediately after distillation, the eau-de-vie was transferred to fine-grained oak barrels, ageing for 23 years to attain its aromatic plenitude.

Martell Single Cru Borderies 1999 offers a complete organoleptic experience, representing the purest expression of the best of the Borderies terroir in that particular year. With characteristic notes of candied fruit, linden blossom, and vibrant citrus, it demonstrates an extraordinary smoothness, with a rich, fruity dimension palate.

The Vintage Edition is presented in a precious, numbered bottle and it will be released in exceptionally limited quantities—representing the very last barrels of these rare eaux-de-vie— for collectors.

Price and Availability

The Martell Single Cru Discovery Edition and the Aged Edition are now available in Malaysia nationwide. While, the Vintage Edition will be set to release in Malaysia with limited units via Martell’s Prestige Manager.

Starting from The Discovery Edition, with Martell Single Cru Fins Bois and Martell Single Cru Petite Champagne priced at RM580 per bottle. While the Martell Borderies will be priced at RM620 per bottle due to the rarity of its cru.

For the Aged Edition, the Martell Single Cru XO Grande Champagne and Martell Single Cru XXO Borderies will be priced at RM1,440 and RM2,830 respectively.

The Martell Single Cru Borderies 1999 from the Vintage Edition, will be released with a price of RM10,800 in limited quantities.

The Martell Single Cru Collection are available at selected retail stores. Stay tuned at Martell Malaysia official website or Martell Malaysia Facebook and Instagram account for more information.

 As usual before I end my post, here's a reminder to all my readers – Remember to drink responsibly, please do not drink and drive. Grab an e-hailing ride or get a designated driver. Cheers!!!