THREE CENTURIES OF PERFECTION

Throughout humanity’s collective history, there are scant few entities that can claim lineages that have endured three centuries. Even the mighty Seleucid Empire, founded by the battle-hardened generals of Alexander the Great in 312 BC, lasted only 249 years before it was annexed by the Roman Empire in 63 BC.

And yet, the world-famous cognac house that is Martell is one that can lay claim to such a feat. Established in 1715 by Jean Martell as a humble cognac trading house, Martell not only endured, but thrived in the face of continent-shaking upheavals, which included the Napoleonic Wars as well as two World Wars. Today, Martell has come to embody the very meaning of French Art de Vivre (Art of Living), the prevailing philosophy at the time of its founding that sought perfection in all things.

“When Jean Martell founded the cognac house, he was very much inspired by King Louis XIV, who built the Palace of Versailles in 1682. Here, Louis XIV brought artists from all over Europe to transform what was a hunting lodge into the most luxurious palace,” explains Jacques Menier, Martell’s Heritage Director. “Jean Martell was very much influenced by this focus on art in his quest for excellence.”

This relentless drive for perfection paid dividends in the 19th century when Martell’s cognacs began to catch the eye of the international community and were highly sought after by connoisseurs from as far as China and Hong Kong. “This is when Martell become a truly international brand,” says Menier. “It was a special milestone when the Cantonese began pairing Martell cognacs with their cuisine, because as everyone knows, the Cantonese are very particular about their food!”

Fuelled by this insatiable demand from aficionados both near and far, Martell continued to raise the standards of excellence with increasingly premium beverages, such as Édouard Martell’s famous 1912 Cordon Bleu. “We continuously improved our products by listening to our loyal customers,” Menier explains. “In fact, much of this demand for our premium products originated from Asia.”

While Martell cognacs have historically been consumed by the more mature epicureans, Menier has observed a new breed of connoisseur emerged within the last decade. “Since 2004, we have seen increasing demand for our products among young adults, especially in Asia,” Menier notes. “They enjoy our cognacs not only at big events such at weddings, but also on a day-to-day basis, and they frequently mix cognacs with green tea.”

This concoction, commonly known as Green Tea Martell, has steadily grown in popularity in recent years and can now be found in nightclubs across South-East Asia. Its main virtue is the manner in which the green tea helps to smoothen out the smoky taste of a Martell cognac, whose strong flavours can sometimes overwhelm the fledgling enthusiast. It’s also an extremely efficient method of getting inebriated in a hurry.

“Connoisseurs back in France have been surprised by this mixing of green tea with cognac, but I think it’s only natural,” says Menier. “As with most food and drink, young consumers tend to prefer sweeter things. But as your palate matures, you eventually develop a preference for drier tastes.” For Menier, his favourite way of enjoying cognac is, quite simply, in the company of good friends.

So what actually goes into the making of one of Martell’s cognacs? Here, the worlds of modernity and tradition come together in a truly seamless fashion. Everything begins with the humble Ugni Blanc grape born from the silica-clay soils of the Borderies region in Cognac, France. Renowned for their floral aroma and smoothness, these grapes are subsequently distilled into sparkling white wines in the traditional Charentais copper stills from November to March under the watchful eye of the Master Distiller.

While the Ugni Blanc grapes and Charentais copper stills are exactly the same as the ones used by Jean Martell back in 1715, Menier points out that, in the present day, “Martell’s grape harvesting is mostly mechanised to ensure that we pick the grapes as quickly as possible to prevent premature fermentation. Additionally, the distillation is heavily computerised so that we can capture every detail involved in the production process.” The result of the distillation process is a pure, colourless fruit brandy known as eau-de-vie, French for “water of life”.

The eau-de-vie then undergoes a lengthy period of slumber where it is aged in the traditional soft, fine-grained oak barrels no different from the ones used 300 years ago.  “There is no substitute for time and the traditional oak barrels. The Cognac area has always been famous for its oak barrels; in fact, all the best wines in the world are aged in Cognac oak barrels,” says Menier. “The oak imbues the drink with a sweet vanilla flavour, as opposed to bitterness if another type of wood was to be used.” Furthermore, the oak wood also lends the eau-de-vie its iconic amber hue and woody aroma.

After this aging period, which can last anywhere from two to 70 years, the eau-de-vie is subsequently blended with other eau-de-vie to finally create a cognac. This task of blending the different eaux-de-vie, some of which are hundreds of years old, falls to the Cellar Master, who possesses skills that are handed down from generation to generation of cellar masters. “The challenge is to reproduce a cognac of exactly the same taste using blends of eaux-de-vie that are different from year to year. It’s not an easy task, but this is something we’ve perfected over the last 300 years,” says Menier.

The culmination of 300 years’ worth of expertise will manifest themselves in a series of celebrations across the world, which began, to what may surprise many, in none other than Malaysia. “Malaysia is Martell’s second most important market in the world after China,” says Emmanuel Dokhelar, Marketing Director of Pernod Ricard Malaysia. “Not only is it a good market, it is an improving one too, so we’re investing a lot into establishing the brand’s presence here.”

These festivities started, fittingly, at 1715hrs on 17 January 2015 – a nod to Martell’s founding year of 1715 – with a special cake-cutting ceremony. “The idea was not to blow out the candles but rather light them up to symbolise the beginning of a full year of celebrations,” says Dokhelar.

Following this, Martell will soon host its gala dinner on the 6th of March at Genting Highlands, where 300 tables will accommodate guests and friends of Martell. At the function, the results of an ongoing charity auction to raise funds for the Rise Above Foundation – a non-profit body that supports young Malaysian artists – will be announced.

“Martell and Pernod Ricard Malaysia have been very successful in recent years and it’s important that we do our part to give back to the community,” says Dokhelar. “To raise funds for the foundation, we held an auction of Martell’s products, including a special 300 Years Limited Edition piece.”

These efforts fall under the larger umbrella of Martell’s Artist of the Year programme, an initiative that supports artists under the age of 30 to enable them to travel to France to hone their talents under the tutelage of renowned French artisans.

“Martell has always supported the arts because the word ‘art’ sits in the very centre of the name ‘Martell’ itself,” says Menier. “This legacy goes all the way back to our founding father, Jean Martell, who was inspired by the cream of Europe’s artists involved in creating the Palace of Versailles. Also, we do believe that it is an art to create a good cognac.”

So it is with great anticipation that we await Martell’s upcoming gala dinner. Having kicked off the year’s celebrations on such a high note, one can only expect great things from Martell for the rest of 2015.