Сognacs in Сrystal

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			Сognacs in Сrystal Time bestows upon each cognac its own particular ‘voice’ and the master blender, who is fortunate enough to profit by the labours of his predecessors, conducts these voices to form a harmonious choir. By the time it appears in public, the cognac is mature, magnificent, exquisite and containing as it does hundred-year-old eau-de-vie, is undeniably worthy of special respect. And that means an ordinary bottle is simply not good enough. A drink of this calibre should be displayed in all its glory so that admirers can appreciate the way its rich amber hue breaks down into a hundred golden fragments – which is something that only a crystal shell can give it. The first person to realize this was Michel Camus, grandson of the founder of the House of Camus. To help find a form that would be worthy of its precious contents, he approached one of the oldest French companies, whose name alone was synonymous with the concept of ‘luxury crystal’ – the firm of Baccarat. Michel Camus’ initiative was taken up by practically everyone, and all the great Houses began sealing their cognac in crystal ice. Baccarat was the most popular, but it was far from being the only brand, whose crystal attracted the attention of the Houses. Hennessy and Otard entrusted their best cognacs, Richard Hennessy and Otard Extra, to the French company Saint-Louis, which had been supplying crystal to practically all the royal courts of Europe since the 16th century. L’Esprit Courvoisier cognac preferred the decadent fluidity of form made by Lalique, whose art nouveau vases are found in fifty of the world’s museums. The fanciful style of the decanter used for the most expensive Martell cognac – the L’Art de Martell – required the unique pate de verre (glass dough) technique that only the French company, Daum, possessed. Each of these is a collector’s rarity, since real works of art cannot exist in any quantity. Richard Hennessy The last creation of the House of Hennessy was a tribute to its founder. The harmonious composition of the cognac was formed from more than a hundred eau-de-vie, many of which are stored in the Founder’s Vault – cellars on the banks of the Charente – and laid down by Richard Hennessy himself in 1795. Richard Hennessy cognac shows a flawlessly balanced combination of the smells of vanilla, spices, pepper and light vegetable oils. The cognac gives off a variety of flavours including spices, pepper, oak, flowers, fruit and the much-loved rancio – a unique and unmatched flavour found only in very old cognacs. Richard Hennessy is presented in a hand-blown crystal decanter, which takes the master glassblowers from the prestigious Saint-Louis Company some forty hours to produce. The neck of the decanter is ringed in silver, and the thick glass of its sides is engraved with grape vines. The decanter also has a secret of its own – it contains a thin inner film of glass that prevents the cognac from coming into contact with the crystal. L’Art de Martell L’Art de Martell is rightly called the diamond in the precious crown of the Martell cognacs. The House of Martell together with the designer, Thierry Lecoul, have dedicated L’Art de Martell to the fine arts. The crystal decanter is an unusual shape and produced by Daum to point up the sophistication and elegance of the drink. The cognacs that make up the L’Art de Martell composition come from Martell’s holy of holies – the Paradis cellars. The age of the eau-de-vie that make up the blend range from 80 to 100 years. L’Art de Martell is noted for its complex flavour with hints of hazelnut and blackcurrants. Its bouquet contains the prominent aroma of dried fruits and ripened nuts. The cognac has an exceptionally long aftertaste. L’Art de Martell has been produced in a limited number of 1997 bottles, their number coinciding with the year of production. Louis XIII Three generations of master blenders from the House of Remy Martin worked to create the Louis XIII. It is made only from the choicest cognacs in the Grande Champagne region, which is a reliable guarantee as to its quality. The age of the eau-de-vie that are blended into an intricate bouquet of aromas varies from 40 to 100 years. The cognac matures in centuries-old casks in a cellar that is set aside for that particular vintage only. The whimsical bouquet of the Louis XIII reveals a variety of interesting scents: hints of daffodil, jasmine and immortelle; the cloying aromas of exotic fruits like cocoanut and lychee; and the smells of rare spices like saffron, nutmeg and sandalwood. Louis XIII is presented in bottles by Baccarat. In shape they reproduce the form of a royal field flask. Courvoisier Collection Erte In 1988 the Russian artist, Roman Tyrtov, a genius working in the art deco style, prepared sketches for eight bottles of Courvoisier cognac. It was the painter’s idea that each sketch should illustrate a stage in the production of cognac: Vigne (the Vine), Vendanges (Harvesting the Grapes), Distillation, Vieillissement (Ageing), Degustation (Tasting), L’Esprit du Cognac (the Spirit of the Cognac), Inedit. The collection was named after the artist (ErTe – his initials, as pronounced in Russian, and his pseudonym). The blend for this drink was produced only from eau-de-vie coming from the Grand Champagne region. The blend is based on the harvest of 1892 – the year Tyrtov was born. Each exclusive bottle is decorated with a hand-drawn painting, ornamented with pure 18-carat gold, and has its own individual number. L’Esprit de Courvoisier This is the height of subtlety and harmony from the House of Courvoisier and contains precious drops of cognac from the ancient reserves of the Paradise Cellars at the Chateau Courvoisier, which in its time had supplied cognac for Napoleon Bonaparte. The youngest cognac in the blend is a 1930 vintage; other cognacs come from the emergency reserves of Napoleon III and Edward VII. In the bouquet each aroma is replaced by another: hazelnuts are followed by button mushrooms; sweets by expensive cigars. The aftertaste of the cognac may last more than half an hour on the palate and is just as changeable as the taste. The House of Courvoisier has shown originality in not putting its most expensive drink into a Baccarat container (like the majority of cognac Houses), but into a unique decanter made by the no less prestigious firm of Lalique. A batch of L’Esprit de Courvoisier is limited to 2,000 bottles. Otard Extra Otard Extra is the only Otard cognac deemed worthy of ageing in the deep cellars of the Paradis Chateau de Cognac. The Grand Champagne eau-de-vie that will one day be married together in the Otard Extra are fifty years old. During these years spent in the moist darkness and quiet of the cellars, the cognac acquires the aromas of dried fruits, caramel, honey, spices and leather. The crystal decanter intended for this elite cognac has been created by the famous French Saint-Louis Company, a producer of exclusive crystal. In June 2003 the cognac acquired presidential status: after the G-8 Summit in Evian, Jacques Chirac presented the leaders of the member countries with an exclusive decanter of fifty-year-old Otard Extra. Camus Reserve Extra Vieille Jubilee As the name of this cognac (Jubilee) implies, it was created to mark a festive event – the fiftieth anniversary of the House of Camus. Since then the presence of Camus Vieille Jubilee at anniversaries and celebrations has become a sign of good taste. In 1913 Edmond Camus thought up the blend from the oldest cognacs in the House’s collection, part of which had been poured into casks back in the 19th century. The Camus Vieille Jubilee has the clearly defined mature aromas of leather and slightly smoky wood cedar and its taste contains hints of oak and honey followed by a sophisticated dry aftertaste. The drink is bottled in avant-garde crystal decanters by Baccarat and designed by Serge Mancau. Meukow Nec Plus Ultra This exceptional blend is made entirely from eau-de-vie of a good age – the very youngest must be at least sixty years old – produced in the Grand Champagne Premier Cru region. The years spent in oaken casks have given Meukow Nec Plus Ultra a delicate and elegant aroma with hints of hazelnut, citrus fruits, spices and barely perceptible intimations of flowers, and a mature, rounded taste with traces of dried fruit, bitter chocolate and cigars. The bottle for this luxurious cognac is accompanied by a no less luxurious crystal decanter by Baccarat – into which the Meukow Nec Plus Ultra is poured before being placed on the table. La Pouyade La Pouyade is unique. And this is no less than the absolute truth – if only for the fact that the whole production of the House of La Fontaine de la Pouyade consists solely of one cognac alone – La Pouyade. The Bouyer-Dubosquet family own some of the finest vineyards in the Grand Champagne region, where the rare Folle Blanche sort is found. They also possess the oak grove at Troncais, which was a present from Napoleon. Fourteen generations of the Bouyer-Dubosquet family have put together a collection of two and a half thousand samples of their own eau-de-vie, the cognacs from which form the basis for La Pouyade. The majority of these are at least eighty years old, but there are some ‘natives’ of the area that date back to the 19th century. The cognac is presented in hand-blown bottles of an 18th century design. Each has a 24-carat gold label with its own individual number.