Christophe Valtaud’s first thought when when he ascended to the role of cellar master in 2017 was succession. That would be unusual in any other situation. Valtaud, however, saw securing Martell’s legacy as one of his most important responsibilities.
Born in the Cognac region, Valtaud grew up surrounded by the liquid. “I like to joke that I was born in the barrel,” the Frenchman says, laughing. However, his first taste of its richness came only when he was 21. It wasn’t because of any specific rule or regulation.
Rather, Valtaud could already dive into the depths of any cognac simply by nosing it.
Of course, nosing a cognac and creating one are completely unique skills. Valtaud already knew he could taste after serving on Martell’s tasting committee for several years, but he only discovered his ability for creation just six months before he became cellar master.
A cellar master at Martell doesn’t become one by length of service or natural career advancement. You are chosen by your peers. There are no physical battles or competitions either. Instead, Valtaud was invited to recreate several important cognac recipes and learned he could discern what was needed to mimic the taste of Martell’s different beloved cognacs already on the market.
“You can create your own taste, of course, but as a cellar master, you must recreate the cognacs already available,” he says. It’s an important distinction, especially since Martell has been a beloved cognac house for over three centuries and has nurtured hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of connoisseurs who love its delicate and rich liquid. As cellar master, Valtaud must continue this tradition and ensure the taste and savoir-faire remain consistent.
It’s not just about following recipes. Being a cellar master is akin to the work of a Michelin-starred chef, according to Valtaud. The latter can give you the exact ingredients and steps needed to recreate a dish, but it won’t taste the same. Cellar masters face a similar challenge. However, they don’t just have five ingredients; they have 1,400.
It is also Valtaud’s responsibility to create new traditions. A year into his tenure as cellar master, he told his colleagues he wanted to change “the taste and recipe of L’Or”, one of Martell’s long-standing cognacs.
He spent three years thinking about it—a long time in many respects, but just a blip in the history of Martell. “I needed to find the inspiration and to understand what I wanted to share regarding the emotions,” explains Valtaud. He narrowed the latter down to two: delicateness and richness. “For me, the previous [rendition of] L’Or was perfect, but we can go further.”
He took another three years to experiment with the different combinations of Grande Champagne cognac and eaux-de-vie (French for water of life) from the Borderies, and one more year to fine-tune the recipe.
Cognac is a delicate thing, and the L’Or range even more so. Changing one drop can dramatically transform the taste and Valtaud understood the immense pressure of changing a beloved icon. He didn’t do it alone. Two of his team members, expert master blender Christian Guerin and Martell’s seventh cellar master Pascal Diop, were instrumental in pushing him to achieve the perfect balance between “richness and elegance” and maintain the “expressive nose, but without aggression in the taste”.
The result is the new L’Or de Jean Martell – Réserve du Château collection. Valtaud pays homage to the French art de vivre (way of life) by using the different châteaus in the country to finish the cognacs.
For 2024, the first in the range is the L’Or de Jean Martell – Réserve du Château de Chanteloup. Valtaud blended over 1,4000 eaux-de-vie to create it. The ageing process was completed at Château de Chanteloup, once the home of the Martell family.
The year 2025 will welcome another addition to the collection with yet another château in the spotlight—and one Valtaud is extremely excited about. “It’s my personal creation,” he says, grinning.
He is too humble to say it, but it’ll likely cement his place in the annals of Martell’s history. Even so, the man is content to put his head down, work hard, and steward the house into the capable hands of its next
cellar master.
