Rémy Martin XO

About this wine

Rémy Martin XO is a Fine Champagne cognac built mainly from Ugni Blanc eaux de vie from the Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne crus. The blend is composed of up to 400 different eaux de vie aged roughly between 10 and 37 years, giving an average tasting age around the mid twenties, and it is bottled at 40 percent alcohol by volume. On the nose you will find candied orange peel, ripe figs, jasmine and toasted almond notes that open with air. The palate shows layers of honeyed fruit, dark chocolate, baking spice and a smooth touch of oak tannin, with a velvety texture and a long warming finish. The production relies on double distillation and long maturation in French oak, and the cellar mastery aims to harmonize a large range of ages to achieve consistent depth and complexity.

About the grape

Ugni Blanc is the backbone of Rémy Martin XO, the variety brought to dominance in Cognac after the 19th century phylloxera crisis thanks to its disease resistance, very high acidity and low sugar that yield clean, age worthy eaux de vie and it still accounts for the vast majority of plantings in the region. Colombard is used in smaller amounts to add aromatic lift and structure, it is an old Charente variety with high acidity and a history as a pre phylloxera mainstay that producers blend selectively for more pronounced floral and fruit tones. Folle Blanche was once the traditional grape of Cognac and although its plantings are now rare due to sensitivity to disease, Rémy Martin and other houses keep small parcels of it for eaux de vie that bring rounded, perfumed intensity to blends. In Rémy Martin production these three varieties are harvested to make low alcohol, high acid base wines that are double distilled in copper stills and then blended so each variety contributes its characteristic backbone, aroma or richness to the XO assemblage.

Quick facts

• 🕰️ Rémy Martin XO was created in 1981 by cellar master André Giraud, it was the first XO made exclusively from the Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne crus
• 🛢️ The blend can contain up to 400 different eaux de vie, some kept for many decades, which is why XO is famous for its layered, almost story like complexity
• 🍇 The wine base is Ugni Blanc grown in Fine Champagne, Rémy Martin has pledged to work exclusively with Grande and Petite Champagne growers since 1948
• 🎨 The bottle and centaur emblem became canvases for artists, Rémy Martin has released ornate limited edition XO decanters decorated by ateliers and metalwork artists
• 🎉 XO has been reinvented for celebration culture, from special club friendly XO Night releases to numbered anniversary Coupes and collaborative 50 centilitre editions

Palate profile

Producer

Rémy Martin was founded in 1724 by Rémy Martin, a young winegrower in the Cognac region who began selling his eaux de vie under his own name. The House gained royal recognition in 1738 when King Louis XV allowed it to plant new vines, and it later became known for blending only Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne eaux de vie, a style called Cognac Fine Champagne. In the 19th century the centaur emblem was adopted and the brand expanded its exports worldwide, establishing itself among the major cognac houses. Today Rémy Martin is part of the Rémy Cointreau group and celebrated its 300 year anniversary with special releases and renewed focus on sustainability and craftsmanship.