Three centuries ago, several oak trees fell in a French forest. This was a time before chainsaws and mechanical beasts, so dozens of men had to lug the fallen trunks by hand to the nearest town. There, artisans carved uniform staves from the untreated oak, treated them to remove splinters and other unnecessary paraphernalia, and shaped them into barrels.
If these barrels could speak, oh, the stories they would tell. Instead, they remain silent, fulfilling their role to age the eau-de-vie, French for “water of life”.
It was Jean Martell who saw the potential of these oak casks. In 1715, the Englishman settled in France, took a keen interest in the careful ageing of the water of life, and founded Maison Martell to produce and sell exceptional, aromatic cognac.
The house remains one of the foremost producers of cognac in the world, the swift in its logo a reminder of the art de vivre (French for art of living) Martell captures effortlessly.
Now, for 2024, it’s launching a new collection called L’Or de Jean Martell – Réserve du Château to pay homage to the vision and savoir-faire that its founder shaped several hundreds of years ago.
The first edition honours Château de Chanteloup, the historic home of the Martell family. Cellar master Jean Valtaud selected and blended over 1,400 eaux-de-vie, each of which had been aged in the oak barrels mentioned earlier, before completing them in the chosen château.
Of course, any glass bottle would not do. To showcase the cognac’s exceptionalism, Martell collaborated with luxury crystal house Baccarat to create the decanter housing the golden liquid.
Blown into the shape of a teardrop, the bottle features a 19-ct gold painted neck and a matching gilded pedestal. The wooden box the L’Or de Jean Martell – Réserve du Château de Chanteloup comes in also pays homage to those trees that once stood proudly in the forest and features the iconic teardrop on the doors, showcasing the gold of the L’Or liquid within. At the front, too, a sun, symbolising the late French king Louis XIV, shines bright while the back tells the story of L’Or. The box also includes two stoppers: one for transportation and the other for display.
Naturally, the L’Or de Jean Martell – Réserve du Château de Chanteloup is limited to only 1,000 decanters and can be yours for $9,888. It’s available at selected luxury retailers in Singapore. And if you’re wondering about the taste, well, it’s Martell. You won’t be disappointed.
