Camus Bottle Catalogue (last updated: Oct 6, 2021)
(702 regular sized bottles, 31 magnums and stands and 384 miniatures; but still not complete.)
Introduction
Camus was established in 1863. After some troublesome years, especially in the 1950’s, they have now become the number five of the major cognac trading houses. Their success began when they started using the name Napoléon to promote their cognacs. Because Courvoisier already had the slogan ‘Le cognac de Napoléon’, they found another way by emphasizing on napoléon quality cognacs (napoléon meaning: aged fo six or more years) and by using the portrait of Napoléon on many of their limited édtions of Limoges porcelain bottles.
Their slogan is ‘Le Grande Marque’ and also ‘Royal Choice’.
Camus also has had the privilege to be ‘fournisseurs de la Cour de S.M. le Roi de Suède’ (suppliers of the Royal Court of S.M. the King of Sweden).
Camus has also used other brand names, notably Chateau d’Uffaut. These are not represented here.
Contents:
1. Three stars
2. VS
3. VSOP
4. Napoleon
5. XO
6. Extra and extraordinaire
7. 40 years old, VVSOP and VO
8. Réserve Extra Vieille and Hors d’Age
9. Vintages, Family Héritage and Rarissimés
10. Baccarat and other decanters
11. Limited Editions
– 11a VSOP destination
– 11b Royale
– 11c Intensely aromatic series
– 11d Celebration
– 11e Réserve Spéciale and Réserve Privé
– 11f Île de Ré
– 11g Other limited editions
12. Limoges porcelain
– 12a Grand Masters Collection
– 12b Napoleon books
– 12c drums
– 12d sports
– 12e other
13. Canons and special stands (tonneau)
14. Magnums
15. Miniatures and mid-sized (20-50cl) bottles
– 15a Three star Miniatures
– 15b VS Miniatures
– 15c VSOP Miniatures
– 15d Napoleon Miniatures
– 15e XO
– 15f Extra
– 15g Vieille Reserve and VO
– 15h Reserve Extra Vieille and Hors d’Age
– 15i miniature limited editions
— 15i-a Celebration
— 15i-b GMC miniatures
— 15i-c Other miniatures
— 15i-d Mini limoges: grand masters collection
— 15i-e Mini limoges: napoleon books
— 15i-f Mini limoges: belle epoque
— 15i-g Mini limoges: golfballs
— 15i-h Mini limoges: tonneaux
— 15i-j Mini Île de Ré
— 15i-k Mini canons, stands and various other
– 15j 20-50cl bottles
16. Camus Extravaganza
1. Three stars
2. VS
3. VSOP
VSOP, Old bottle types
Grand VSOP, plump bottles
Grand VSOP, elegant bottles, Camus above cognac on shoulder label:
Grand VSOP, elegant bottles, Camus below cognac on shoulder label and a wider gold band on the capsule:
Newer type has simple emblem and an adorned golden band around the lower edge of the capsule:
VSOP de Luxe:
Four different bottles, last one is 1 Liter.
VSOP Elegance
VSOP Borderies
4. Napoléon
Napoléon, Napoleon in large letters on the shoulder:
Napoléon, Camus in large letters on the shoulder, two lines of text at the bottom (basically the back-sides are different):
Napoléon, Camus in large letters, at the bottom three lines of text:
Napoléon vieille réserve, Camus in large letters, emblem in the neck blob (1970-80s):
Napoléon Extra, Extra Old and Rare Old
5. XO
XO, Long necks
XO, Superior
XO, Elegance
XO crown, imperial
XO Borderies
XO, asian market
These two XO Chungwa’s are also Camus.
6. Extra and extraordinaire
Extra, old bottle types
Extra Elegance
Extraordinaire
Three different colours, embleme and neck.
7. 40 Years old, VVSOP and VO
8. Réserve Extra Vieille and Hors d’Age
9. Vintages, Family Héritage and Rarissimés
Old vintages
Rarissimés, single crus:
Rarissimés, blends
Family Héritage (rarissimés):
Other
First three bottles Pionneau, which is a brandname of Camus, then a bons bois vintage 1973.
10. Baccarat and other decanters
Decanters with no further indication:
Napoléon decanters:
Spécial Réserve:
Several decanters with very aged cognac:
More information about the very expensive baccarat decanters to be found in the chapter ‘Extravaganza’.
11. Limited editions
11a. VSOP destination (2016)
11b. Royale
11c. Intensely Aromatic series (2019)
11d. Celebration (Celebration celebrates 100 years Camus, 1963, has been in production for many years after)
Celebration, white labels (ca. 1960s)
No paper label (ca. 1970s):
Celebration, black paper label (ca. 1970-80s)
Celebration, aberrant
11e. Reserve Spéciale and Réserve privé
11f. Île de Ré
These are all four Bois Ordinaires cognacs.
11g. Other limited editions
Premium Gastronomie (possibly not for the retail market):
12. Limoges porcelain
12a. Grand Masters Collection
these are all 70cl special reserve, content stated on the box; most are made of Castel Limoges and adorned with 22kt gold. Women in the Garden, Evening Mood and Two Tahitian Women are made of Artoria limoges. After the Bath is produced by Castel Limoges as well as by Artoria limoges. They were sold in the 1980-90s.
Specimen with duty seals:
12b. Napoleon books (bicentenaire 1769-1969)
These are all 70cl Napoléon or sometimes Napoléon Vieille Réserve cognac flasks made of Limoges and adorned with 22kt gold. The Limoges marks may vary: ‘L’, Castel, Haviland, Bernardaud, Jammet Seignolles, ‘MNP’ (Manufacture Nouvelle de Porcelain, forerunner of Artoria). Unfortunately I do not always have pictures of the backs or the bottomsides. They came out in 1969 and probably some years after.
12b1. Napoleon standing, ‘keyhole’ front.
Backs and front are adorned with vine leafes except the brown books. All Napoleon, but some have ‘vieille reserve’ added. Limoges factories can be Castel, L, MNP, Artoria or Jammet Seignolles. Click on the photo’s to see back and bottom of the books.
12b2. Napoleon standing, plain front.
Backs and front are adorned with laurels on the front and solid bands or wedges on the back. All Napoleon. Limoges factories can be Castel, L, MNP, Bernardaud or De Haviland. Click on the photo’s to see back and bottom of the books.
12b3. Napoleon in unicolour, standing.
Adornments on front and back vary. Qualities are Napoleon or Napoleon Vieille Reserve. Limoges factories can ve Castel, MNP or De Haviland. Click on the photo’s to see back and bottom of the books.
12b4. Napoléon bust:
Adornments on front are always laurels, on the back solid bands or wedges. They are all Napoleon quality. Limoges factories can be Castel, ‘L’, De Haviland or Bernardaud. Click on the photo’s to see back and bottom of the books.
To see some very small differences in the heads: click!
Be aware of imitations: the Napoléon books with ‘feathered hat’ are not Camus, as probably is the last one with quite different laurels:
12c. Drums
These drums are Napoléon Vieille Réserve, 70cl and are made of Haviland Limoges.
12d. Sports
700ml Limoges bottles, most are Napoléon (Moscow is Napoléon Extra).
700ml Golf balls
12e. Other
Petit Trésor:
Belle epoque:
Special occasions:
Other:
13. Canons and special stands
14. Magnums
The three XO Borderies have different emblems.
15. Miniatures
15a. three stars
Three stars clear glass (or almost clear)
Three stars green glass
15b. VS
VS de Luxe 3cl
VS de Luxe 5cl
VS Elegance, white labels
VS Elegance, black labels
15c. VSOP
VSOP (not De Luxe, Grand, Elegance)
Grand VSOP
– grand VSOP, green bottle, no label
– grand VSOP, green bottle, black and golden label
– grand VSOP, clear bottle, red label, no content stated
– grand VSOP, clear bottle, red label, 2.9cl
– grand VSOP, clear bottle, red label, 3cl
– grand VSOP, clear bottle, red label, 5cl and more
VSOP de Luxe
VSOP Elegance, 3cl
VSOP Elegance, 5cl
Destination
VSOP Intensely Aromatic, 5cl
15d. Napoleon
Napoleon, no label
Napoleon, black label
The first six bottles say ‘La Grande Marque’ just underneath the embleme. The other four: ‘Produce of France’.
Napoleon Extra, Rare Old, Extra Old and Napoleon Vieille Réserve
15e. XO
XO and XO Superior
XO Elegance
XO Borderies
XO Chungwa
15f. Extra
15g. Vieille Réserve and VO
15h. Réserve Extra Vieille and Hors d’Age
15i. Miniature limited editions
15i-a. Celebration
Celebration white labels:
Celebration, no paper labels:
Celebration, black paper labels with Camus above the emblem:
Celebration, black paper labels with Camus beneath the emblem:
Celebration, flasks:
15i-b. GMC miniatures
15i-c. Other limited edition miniatures
The Celebration tube says ‘Selebration’ (Click it). I do not know what to think of it.
15i-d. Mini limoges: grand masters collection
15i-e. Mini limoges: napoleon books (5cl)
These collection are all Limoges porcelain. At the bottom they have marks that differ according to the series they belong to. Thus you can have just the mark, the mark with ’22K Gold’ written and the mark with ’22K Gold Edition Limitée’. For instance for the blue standing Napoléon:
Standing; with on the back bands of laurel leaves:
with bands of laurel leaves on back, Napoleon cognac
with laurel leaves bands on back, Napoleon Vieille Reserve cognac
Standing, with solid bands on back:
First four are all Napoléon, last one is Napoleon Vieille Reserve.
Standing, with solid wedge shaped bands on back:
All four are Napoléon cognac
Buste of Napoléon:
15i-f. Mini limoges: belle epoque
15i-g. Mini limoges: golfballs
15i-h. Mini limoges: tonneaux
15i-j. Mini Île de Ré
15i-k. Mini canons, stands and various other
15j. 20-50cl bottles
Three star and VS:
VSOP:
Napoléon:
Special Réserve:
XO:
Extra:
Celebration:
VSOP, destination (2016):
Destination editions in porcelain limoges bottles:
The Destination bottles are 35cl Special Reserve, made of Castel Limoges, adorned with 22kt gold, and can be recognized by the text on the bottom of the flask, where it says ‘Destination Collection’:
Grand master collection in porcelain limoges bottles:
Other porcelain:
Special editions:
16. Camus Extravaganza
The very expensive and extravagant bottles of Camus have their own page, where there is room for a more extensive description of the bottles: the Master Piece Collection and the Jubilée Réserve Extra Vieille.
Click on this link to see the Camus Extravaganza page.
Or in Dutch: Click on this link to see the Camus Extravaganza page in Dutch.
Добрый день! Подскажите пожалуйста вот по этому релизу. Каков примерный возраст спиртов? И как я понимаю в наборе идут две пробки? Или не всегда?
Hi Vasily,
It is special reserve, so it promises only a minimum of 4 years on cask. But it is a blend so there coud be (and probably are) older cognacs in it. The flask is closed with a small stopper and comes with a second decorative cork.
Kind regards,
Ton
Большое спасибо за ответ Тон! Я почему то думал что в special reserve минимум Наполеон залит спирты 15-20 лет)) Дата разлива октябрь 1991 года. К сожалению тара только с одной пробкой, видимо утеряна за эти 30 лет хранения.
С уважением Василий
Well, normally a Napoleon is 6 years or older, but this bottle is not a Napoléon, but a Special Réserve.
It happens more often that the stopper is lost. Sometimes they are replaced by another one with a different colour!
Kind regards,
Ton
Спасибо за разъяснение! Только вот теперь понять что входит в этот Special Réserve)). Получается что это просто уровень VSOP? Вроде бы и тара презентабельная и тематическая, а залили более простое по выдержке.
Спасибо большое за разъяснение. А вот интересно Special Réserve это выше VSOP? Или тот же уровень?
It is the same level.
Greetings!
What is the aging of this cognac? When was it bottled?
Sincerely.
As far as I know it was never disclosed how lang they have aged. It is my belief though, they are below VSOP quality.
They were bottled in the 1960s and first half of the 1970s.
Hello. I have a French cognac “Camus G.M.C. Gold Mercury Commemoration”Michel Camus received this award in 1975. How much is it worth and whether it is a collector’s bottle.
Thank you for your answer and best regards.
Hi,
In my opinion this is not really a collector’s item. It’s worth around €35-50.
I have seen higher prices, but they are not realistic unless you are very lucky in an auction.
Ton
Hi.
Thank you once again for your answer, and in what year was this cognac produced and what region is it from, and how much is it percentage?
Thank you and best regards.
Jarek 🙂
Well, the Gold Mercury International Award was awarded in 1975 to Camus, so this bottle is probably produced in 1975 or 1976. It is from the cognac region, but not from just one cru: it is a blend. The percentage is not stated. Because of that is must be 40°.
Добрый день!
Подскажите, пожалуйста, такой релиз Camus имеет а своем купаже спирты каких регионов и какой возраст спиртов в ассамбляже?
Заранее благодарю за ответ!
Hello Dmitri,
The translation by Google translate was not very good, but I think you want to know from which cru this cognac was made and what percentage it has.
It is a 40° grande champagne cognac made in the late 1960s – 1970s. Hors d’Age, so it is an old cognac, aged much longer than an XO.
Cheers,
Ton
Большое спасибо!
Значит это Grand Champagne, ещё бы узнать, ориентировочно, возраст спиртов…
I have never read anywhere how long these have aged. Looking at the prices realized on auctions, you would expect less then 40 years.
Cognac producers are free to use hors d’age if the cognac has aged over 6 years, but of course they have always reserved this designation for their old cognacs. My guess would be around 30 years…
Благодарю Вас!
Hi, may I know what is the price tag for this bottle cognac?
Pls see attached image
Hello Jeffrey,
It depends a little bit on how many people are bidding when its auctioned, but you should expect €100-120.
Cheers,
Ton
Thank you for the reply.
Hoi Ton,
Ik zag dat je veel over de camus cognac op je site heb staan. Nu heeft mijn moeder thuis onderstaande geschenkdoos met fles staan. Nu vroeg ik mij af of je hier mischien wat meer informatie over kan geven, bijv een indicatie van de leeftijd. Ben erg benieuwd. Mvg Dimitr
Deze Grand VSOP flessen stammen uit de 1980-90s. In Azië hebben ze het goed gedaan. Zonder giftbox gaan de 70cl flessen op veilingen voor rond €45-65. Het wisselt nogal en de prijzen zijn het laatste jaar nogal de lucht in gegaan. Ter vergelijking, vóór 2017-18 deden ze ongeveer €30-40.
Het is een mooi doosje met leuke attributen, dus €80-100 zou me niet verbazen. Maar eerlijk gezegd heb ik weinig ervaring wat deze giftbox betreft.
Hoi Ton, bedankt voor je info en snelle reactie. Ik heb nog 1 vraagje over het etiket. Hierop staat dat hij geïmporteerd is door koopmans en bruiniers BV Amsterdam. Is daardoor misschien nog beter de datum te bepalen?. In iedergeval nogmaals bedankt voor je snelle reactie en succes met je mooie site
Helaas kan ik je daar niet verder mee helpen…
Hello,
I found at home not opened bottle Camus GMC Le Grande Marque 0,7 in green box (I attached photo). Box neither bottle doesn’t have year. Do you know from which year is that bottle? I already cotacted with Camus on Facebook, but they don’t know exactly the year of botteling. They told regarding the lable seems to be from ’60s. Best regards.
Not many of these bottles are around. They are three star quality and looking at capsule and label from the 1970s; maybe end 1960s, but I doubt it. The exact year is not easy to trace. I expect you can buy these on an auction for around €80.
Best regards,
Ton
i have one small green 5 cl 22k gold 40/ vol NEW and not open
thanks
Hi,
I have a bottle of Camus Celebration that I think would go under your aberrant field. Original box says it is a duty free, purchased from “Forte’s duty free liquor shops” – “at london airports” – “customs stock No. 13.” I’d like to narrow down the age/release/bottle date. Let me know if you’d like a picture for your collection or think you may be able to help.
Cheers and thanks.
Hi,
Yes I would like a picture for the bottle catalog and I will try to put a date on it. I will send you an e-mail.
Cheers,
Ton
Is it a bottle that is not represented on this page?
Hello. I have a bottle of Camus I’ve owned for years after acquiring it from another party, but they didn’t have any information on it. I’ve searched occasionally for information on it, but I haven’t found anything thus far. I discovered your website on my search tonight, and I see that while you have many bottles shown, I don’t see mine. I’m interested to learn anything about it that I can. If I sent you pictures of the bottle, do you think you might be able to tell me something about it? Thank you in advance.
I have sent you an e-mail.