COGNAC-TON

Rémy Martin Bottle Catalog (last updated: Sept 18, 2020)

(881 bottles, 102 magnums and 28 figurines, but still not complete; over 500 miniatures on  a separate page)

Introduction

Established as early as 1724, Rémy Martin has been able to climbe to the second position in terms of sales and it has held this postion for a long time now. Through several marriages Rémy Martin has family bonds with Renaud, Cointreau, Frapin and Hériard (-Dubreuil) and it is now part of Rémy-Cointreau with Dominique Hériard-Dubreuil as CEO.
The logo of Rémy Martin is the centaur.
Rémy Martin is famous for its Louis XIII, a very expensive cognac, which was introduced in 1874. With this bottle they were the first to market such an exclusive cognac. In the Black Pearl series they have found a worthy successor, though the Louis XIII is still being produced.

Contents:

1. Stars and VS

2. VSOP (and VSEP)

— 2a. VSOP (and VSEP), white label
— 2b. VSOP white label, qualité du centaure
— 2c. VSOP gold main label and oval gold neck label
— 2d. VSOP gold main label and oval black neck label
— 2e. VSOP gold main label and round black and gold shoulder label
— 2f. VSOP black and red main label
— 2g. VSOP Superieur and VSOP premier cru
— 2h. VSOP Mature Cask Finish

3. Coeur de Cognac

4. Club

5. Accord 1738

6. Napoléon (also Centaure Napoleon)

7. XO

— 7a. XO Fine Champagne
— 7b. XO Fine Champagne Special
— 7c. XO Fine Champagne Excellence
— 7d. XO Fine Champagne new look
— 7e. XO Grande Champagne

8. Centaure (also Centaure Royal, – XO,- Extra)

9. Extra and Extra de Perfection

10. Age d’Or, Age Inconnu and Grande Réserve

11. Louis XIII and Black Pearl

— 11a. Louis XIII, empty old bottles
— 11b. Louis XIII, white tops
— 11c. Louis XIII, gold tops
— 11d. Louis XIII, Black Pearl

12. Vintages

13. Limited editions and specials

— 13a. Cannes filmfestival
— 13b. Voyage series
— 13c. Artists (rouge)
— 13d. Vincent Leroy series
— 13e. Cellar
— 13f. Coupe
— 13g. Club specials
— 13h. Anniversary
— 13i. Louis XIII specials
— 13j. Various specials
— 13k. Curiosities

14. Magnums and more

— 14a. Jeroboams and up
— 14b. Magnums

15. Figurines

16. Rémy Martin Extravaganza

1. Stars and VS

very old two and three stars:

 

three stars petite fine champagne (around 1980s):

       

Three stars fine champagne:

         

Three stars and VS, petite fine champagne:

VS fine champagne:

      

VS petite fine champagne:

         

VS petite champagne, clear bottles:

         

 

Most of Rémy Martin’s three stars and VS bottles are petite champagne, even when they have ‘grand cru’ or ‘superieur’ written on them. Only few of them are fine champagne.

2. VSOP (and VSEP); vsop started in 1927

2a1. VSOP

2a2. VSOP (and VSEP) white label, with ‘E. Rémy Martin & Co.’ on the neck-label (ca 1940s-1964):

               

2b. white labels, with on the neck-label ‘Qualité du Centaure’ (late 1950s-70s):

                                               

2c. VSOP gold label (main and neck (ca 1970-80s)

The dark frosted bottle is devised in 1972.

2c1. VSOP gold label (main and neck): only text in left bottom corner:

     

2c2. golden labels: text in two corners:

             

2c3. golden labels: text in three corners, lower left and right and upper right:

            

Different text on lower edge of the label: Tes Rare Fine Champagne and Vieille Fine Champagne:

  

2c4. golden labels: text in three corners, upper left and right and lower left:

              

   

2c5. golden labels: text in all four corners:

                                 

2d. VSOP, gold main label and oval black and silver shoulder label (ca. 1980-90s):

68cl bottles:

     

70cl and 75cl bottles:

                                

1 Litre bottles (up to 1.14L):

                     

2e. VSOP gold main label and round black and gold shoulder label (ca. 1990s):

Rémy Martin on the capsule in italics, no accent on Rémy on the main label:

 

Rémy Martin on the capsule in italics, with an accent on Rémy on the main label:

          

Rémy Martin on the capsule in capitals:

      

2f. black and red main label (started 2005).

2f1. capsule has a thin red line:

             

2f2. On the capsule a red rectangle:

   

2f3. Different capsules:

     

2g. VSOP Superieur and VSOP premier cru:

      

2h. VSOP Mature cask finish (started in 2012):

     

3. Coeur de cognac

   

Coeur de Cognac is placed a little bit higher than the VSOP; it is a fine champagne.

4. Club (first made by André Giraud in 1985)

            

 

    

 

The Club’s are fine champagne cognacs.

5. Accord 1738

      

6. Napoleon

6a. Napoleon, rectangular label

         

6b. Napoleon, greish-brown label with letters in gold colour:

    

6c. Centaure Napoleon, brown-yellow label with dark letters:

         

6d. Centaure Napoleon, dark label with red and gold emblem:

     

6e. Centaure Napoleon, dark label with gold coloured cap and emblem:

All above Napoléons are Fine champagne.

Below are Grande Fine Champagne Napoléon bottles:

         

7. XO

7a. XO Fine Champagne (produced from 1981):

 

7b. XO Fine Champagne Special (came out in mid-80s):

7b1. Laurels around the emblem inside the label, big emblem, green glass:

   

7b2. Laurels around the label, smaller emblem, clear glass (late 1980s – early 1990s):

 

 

7b3. Laurels around the emblem inside the label, small emblem (roughly 1990s)

7b3-1. no accent on Rémy Martin and the centaur on the main label is coarse:

     

7b3-2. accent on Rémy Martin and the centaur on the main label is more refined:

                  

7c. XO Fine Champagne Excellence, fine champagne started in 2003:

                 

7d. XO Fine Champagne new look (2016):

       

7e. XO Grande Champagne:

     

 

8. Centaure (and Centaure Royal, – XO, – Extra)

8a. Centaure Royal and XVSOP

8b. Centaure

    

8c. Centaure in crystal

   

           

Al these Centaures are Fine champagne.
Other Centaure’s can be seen under Napoléon and under ‘Centaure, Accord Royal 1738 and Extra’: Napoléon Centaure, Centaure XVSOP and Centaure Extra Old.

9. Extra and Extra de Perfection

9a. Extra Très Vieille

9b. Old extra bottles

     

9bc Old extra carafes

  

9d. Modern Extra carafes 

          

9e. Extra de Perfection

   

10. Age d’Or, Age Inconnu and Grande Réserve

       

        

 

11. Louis XIII and Black Pearl

Louis XIII:

Good information on Louis XIII bottles is to be found on the Louis XIII Evolution website. They have also a lot of information on the stoppers, the emblems, the engravings at the bottom, the importers and on the packaging.
The first Louis XIII was made in 1874 by Paul-Émile Rémy Martin, although the name Louis XIII was not in use before 1937/1938. It was called Age Inconnu. There seem to be no filled Louis XIII bottles around anymore from before 1938. The oldest bottles could have varying orientation of the fleurs de lys and varying number of spikes (or fins as they are also called). The first bottles were hand made glass bottles. Around 1900 they began selling the Louis XIII in Baccarat bottles. Prior to 1937 all bottles were (according to Rémy Martin) labeled with reactangular labels with the name Age Inconnu on it. After the Prohibition in the USA these labels were replaced by bean shaped labels with the name Louis XIII brand rarest reserve on it (so already before WW2, somewhere between 1933 and 1937), but the name ‘Age Inconnu’ and the rectangular labels kept being used next to it for the European market until 1962. When Age Inconnu was used it also always stated: ‘Très Vieille’. Around 1959 ‘Louis XIII Très Vieille’ was used next to ‘Louis XIII brand rarest reserve’ in the USA. From 1963 on Age Inconnu was gone for all bottles, in Europe, the USA and Asia. At the end of the sixties ‘very old’ was also used in stead of ‘Très Vieille’.
In 1979 we see the disappearance of the bottles with a paper label, a white top and a seal to make place for the gold top bottles without a paper label. They now have clear plastic labels with gold lettering. The upside down decanter that has served as a stopper until these days is now replaced by the fleur de lys stopper.
I also made an overview in the form of a table that lists all differences.

11A. Louis XIII, empty, very old bottles:

      

11B. Louis XIII, White tops

(Order is first Europe and rest of World, then USA and finally Asian in plastic boxes)

11B1. Rectangular labels ‘Très Vieille Age Inconnu’ or ‘Very Old Age unknown’, Europe pre-WW2, no baccarat logo
boxes unknown:

 

    

11B2. Rectangular labels ‘Très Vieille Age Inconnu’ or ‘Very Old Age Unknown’, with a Baccarat logo, Europe 1946-1962
in rattan baskets:

 

                         

Made by Val St. Lambert:

11B3. Rectangular labels ‘Très Vieille Age Inconnu’ or ‘Very Old Age Unknown’, with a Baccarat logo, Europe 1962
in white boxes:

  

11B4. Bean shaped labels ‘Very Old Age Unknown’, UK:
(It seems some UK bottles already had bean shaped labels before 1961)

11B5. Bean shaped labels ‘LOUIS XIII Très Vieille’ and ‘Louis XIII Very Old’, Europe and other countries (not USA) 1957-1969
some in baskets, other in (green or) white boxes:

                 

 

11B6. Bean shaped labels ‘Louis XIII Très Vieille and Louis XIII Very Old’, Europe and other countries (not USA), 1969-1979;
in red octagonal boxes and with a card of the battle of Jarnac:

                         

11B7. Bean shaped label ‘Louis XIII Brand – Rarest Reserve’, South- and Central-America, USA until 1964
in red or green boxes:

      

       

11B8. Bean shaped label ‘Louis XIII Brand – Rarest Reserve’, USA 1964-1968;
in oval split boxes:

   

11B9. Bean shaped label ‘Louis XIII Brand – Rarest Reserve’, USA 1969-1978;
in red octagonal boxes:

      

11B10. Bean shaped labels ‘Louis XIII Très Vieille and Louis XIII Very Old’, Asian ca. 1980;
with a card of the battle of Jarnac, in plastic-glass casings:

    

11C. Louis XIII Gold tops

11C1. Louis XIII Gold tops with 1979-1989: name Louis XIII embossed on the capsule; they had red boxes with truncated pyramid lids:

 

            

11C2. Gold tops 1989-2002: name Louis XIII etched in the capsule; red boxes with truncated pyramid lids until 2002:

                     

11C3. Gold tops, from 2003-2011 clam-shell boxes with curved lids:

      

11C4. Gold tops from 2011, vertical cases with sliding doors:

                        

11C5. Gold tops from 2019, rectangular boxes with mirror inside and NFC technology:

(More on Louis XIII bottles on the Extravaganza site, see bottom of this page).

11d. Black Pearl:

         

 These all are Grande champagne cognacs.

12. Vintages

                  

13. Limited editions and specials

13a. Cannes Filmfestival

       

        

All are fine champagnes.

13b. Voyage series

     

Voyage, Sea Line, Trek and Altitude. All are 350ml fine champagnes from around 2001.

13c. Artists (rouge)

              

 

13d. Vincent Leroy series (2016)

                  

13e. Cellar

    

13f. Coupe

      

13g. Club limited editions

           

13h. Anniversary

13h1. 250 years anniversary:

         

13h2. other anniversaries:

 

13i. Louis XIII limited editions

                

 

13j. Various

                                

13k. Curiosities

 

14. Magnums and more

14a. Jeroboams and up:

                                         

14b. Magnums:

1. VS (1.4-1.75L):

2. VSOP (1.4-1.75L):

                                 

3. Club (1.5L)

4. XO (1.4-1.75L):

 

5. Louis XIII and Black Pearl (1.4-1.75L):

 

     

6. Limited editions:

   

15. Figurines

 

      

              

                 

  

16. Rémy Martin Extravaganza

The very expensive and extravagant bottles of Rémy Martin have their own page, with room for a more extensive description of the bottles: Louis XIII, Black Pearl and the Rare Casks.

Click on this link to see Rémy Martin Extravaganza.

Or in Dutch: Click on this link to see the Rémy Martin Extravaganza page in Dutch.