Martell is responding to a wave of demand for more singular expressions with its Single Cru collection that will span three ranges - Discovery, Aged and Vintage, which would offer drinkers a more dynamic sense of the profiles of Cognacs across the various Cognac regions including Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Borderies and Fins Bois, across various ages and vintages.

The debut of the Martell Single Cru Collection will see 3 Discovery expressions, 2 Aged expressions and 1 Vintage expression, which will be progressively launched from January 2024 to April 2024.

Martell Single Cru Collection: Discovery Edition

Martell's Discovery Editions will serve as an exploration of the basics of Cognac terroir and regionality, with a particular focus on the Petite Champagne, Fins Bois and Borderies regions - each expressed as a Single Cru expression.

The Fins Bois is said to convey "lush, juicy fruit, for a vibrant, fragrant sensation on the palate", while the Petite Champagne is "intense and spicy, bursting with warm spices and rich nuts", and finally the Borderies holds "sweet fruit and subtle florals, leaving a delicious impression of fullness".

Martell Single Cru Collection: Aged Edition

The Aged Edition takes the Single Cru a step above, emphasising specially the Borderies and Grande Champagne regions, and then honing in on their profiles with much more age in the form of an XO Grande Champagne (10 years of aging and up) and an XXO Borderies (14 years of aging and up) minimum age classification.

The XO Grande Champagne is said to have "overtones of wood with notes of dried fruit", while the XXO Borderies is said to showcase "richness and fruity notes".

Martell will add to the Aged Edition every subsequent year.

Martell Single Cru Collection: Vintage Edition

The Vintage Edition sees the Single Cru expression narrowed down to a single vintage of its harvest - here Martell presents a 1999 vintage Borderies Cognac that has been aged for 23 years. This expression has been sourced from the Gallienne estate, and is said to come from a challenging climate year, and has thus created an expression that carries "notes of candied fruit and linden blossom" and is described as having "extraordinary smoothness, with a rich, fruity dimension".

As with the Aged Edition, Martell will release a new Vintage Edition each year with a selected single terroir, single estate Cognac of a single vintage.

Kanpai!

88 Bamboo Editorial Team