Grounded yet aspirational and ambitious with no compromise on quality. This is what encapsulates the spirit of Rémy Martin, according to Amaury Vinclet in our second interview this week featuring this remarkable Cognac House.
We cover the history, the heritage, and how the family-owned Rémy Martin are moving with the times to stay in – and ahead – of the game.
Peter Marshall (PM): Amaury, welcome to TRunblocked.com. How would you describe the secret of Rémy Martin’s success over 300 years? It’s not just down to the quality and reputation of the business, is it?
Amaury Vinclet (AV): Guess what, it is the quality. I think what makes Rémy Martin so unique is time. We’ve been really consistent about this character of the House for the last decades and that’s why we always strive to achieve the best possible quality with a no-compromise approach. There are six growing areas within the Cognac region and we only source our eaux-de-vie from two since 1948 – the Grande and the Petite Champagne. Together, they form the Fine Champagne AOC which defines a blend of eaux-de-vie from the terroirs of Grande and Petite Champagne, with at least 50% of Grande Champagne eaux-de-vie.
Since 1927, Rémy Martin has had VSOP Fine Champagne but in 1874, Paul-Emile Rémy Martin already decided to register his first label with Fine Champagne mention.
The region’s AOC was created in 1938 so the official Cognac Fine Champagne appellation was not recognized until the 1930s – but we were already doing these Fine Champagne cognacs years before.
Rémy Martin has always had this obsession with quality. First, we make cognacs, and we try to make exceptional cognacs for our clients, meaning we have to source our eaux-de-vie’s from loyal partners. Today we have 800 winegrower partners, from whom we source exquisite eaux-de-vie’s. It’s called Alliance Fine Champagne, a visionary partnership created by André Hériard Dubreuil in 1965 – and it’s been 60 years now like this.
PM: But is there something else that defines Rémy Martin?
AV: My personal view, having worked for the company for almost 13 years, is that it’s the consistency. The consistency and the quality. Consistency in the values as we are a family business. We have been owned by two families for 300 years, so it’s about people, respecting them and authenticity. It’s also about the importance of the origin. I talk here about the terroirs, as we were born winegrowers in 1724, and we still have this big focus on the wine – which is a big difference between Rémy Martin and the other houses, which were built by traders.
And time. Time is what makes us unique. We are here in our renovated historic house, located in the centre of Cognac and it took us seven years to work on this.
Our youngest cognac, VSOP, contains eaux-de-vie of four years minimum, while in most of the markets and in the UK, more than 70% of cognacs are VS, so two years minimum.
PM: You know the difference.
AV: Yes, you can tell the difference.
PM: Just moving on, the Rémy Martin emblem has a history, doesn’t it?
AV: Yes, it was created in 1870. The centaur, and it’s incredible. Why? Because it says everything about the company. It has its feet on the ground – the terroir – but it is also looking at the sky, aiming for the light and the stars, with optimism in the mission. And our current end of year limited edition Reach For The Stars pays homage to it.
PM: So it’s grounded yet aspirational.
AV: Yes, and ambitious. But grounded. This duality is very interesting, because even if we will always be grounded, we are also innovative and ambitious. We make bold decisions, but always respecting who we are and the people who made us.
So our 300th anniversary celebration for us is about celebrating the people of Rémy Martin, who we are.
PM: But it’s also about the people who buy your product, they help define who you are. Indeed, that takes me logically to the next question where, you know, times are changing. Your consumer profile is changing. How do you plan to attract younger generation consumers to your products while honouring its heritage? Now, this is no easy task, but clearly a necessary one today – especially given that Gen Z and Gen Alpha aren’t necessarily as appreciative of luxury brands like Rémy Martin as they are for other things right now. Their priorities seem to be shifting compared to, say, the baby boomers of this world.
AV: I have received this question a few times and I like it because I think it really depends on where you are in the world. I think this is an interesting insight, don’t get me wrong, but I find it quite different in different countries. What I can say for sure is there is an appetite for new and less formal experiences with the new generations. I think they are not putting cognac in, like, a formal occasion, like they used to do in the past where you gave mainly for Christmas or for the new year, banquets or weddings in some parts of the world.
PM: And gentlemen’s clubs – fine cognacs with fine cigars.
AV: Yes, ready to discover in London in the Arts Club etc. which, of course, is still very important for any time for Rémy Martin. But I do think there’s an appetite to be more informal, to play more with different occasions – like cocktails are booming. You know, the penetration of cocktail consumption has doubled over the last two or three years. Many people rediscover spirits through this and we embrace it. It’s an opportunity for us to be creative.
And so it’s like what I said first – you don’t change the basics, but you adapt to the world. We are in 2024 and not in 1974. Being true to the moment is important, and that through collaborations. I think the key is to have the right partners, bartenders, talents – that’s how we adapt by collaboration, and stay true to it.
A good example is that, in September, we welcomed in Cognac some of the best bars in the world, the 24 finalists of a global bartending competition called the Rémy Martin Bartender Talent Academy. We celebrate 2024, our 300th anniversary year, and we asked 300 bars around the world to imagine what should be the celebration of Rémy Martin locally. Because they are creative people. More creative than me for sure.
These people have some incredible skills and I think our job is to enable them to create new stuff, not telling them the recipes of what they should do. They know what they want to do, but we need to engage them so that they can become even more creative.
PM: It’s great that you are not so arrogant to think that you know it all and that you can learn from them. And that’s what real collaboration is all about.
AV: We know how to make products, they know how to make amazing cocktails, and we respect that. As I said, we are winegrowers since 1724, but they know how to make exceptional spirits that will be part of the future brand of Rémy Martin.
PM: Now, I know you don’t have a crystal ball, and this is a big question – maybe a little early in this conversation – but what initiatives are you taking to ensure the longevity of the company for the next 300 years? I mean, we all know the spirits business has had a fairly tough time over the last 18 months or so. Hopefully, next year should bear witness to some improvements. But, you know, you’re ahead of the game, you’re always thinking ahead. What are your thoughts?
AV: I don’t have a crystal ball, for sure we focus on what we can control first, and there are a few simple things that we can do. Trying to have a better impact on CO2 emissions is simple, so we removed our secondary packaging, especially on Rémy Martin VSOP since 2019. We were the first to do it and we kept it only for gifting moments. In the past, yes, we were selling gift boxes but not anymore except on premium and limited editions. We are now doing the same with Rémy Martin 1738 Accord Royal by removing the canister, and we will continue to make efforts to make our products less heavy, that’s for sure, and we will continue to innovate.
PM: It’s clear that sustainability and terroir are inextricably linked for you. It’s the very ethos of the business. But let’s move on to the celebratory 300 year anniversary product launched earlier this year in Singapore. What role do you see this anniversary coupe playing?
AV: It’s a symbol of transmission. It’s a blend that we call the “Réserve Perpétuelle”. Baptiste Loiseau, Cellar Master of the House of Rémy Martin, used some of the stock from the 2019 edition created by previous Cellar Master Pierrette Trichet, and he kept something back in reserve for the next generation. That’s why we call it “Réserve Perpétuelle”.
PM: It’s beautifully packaged. And the issue with this and, of course, the beautiful LOUIS XIII bottle is how you redesign the bottle to better marry up with today’s sustainability expectations in terms of lighter weight, for example. It’s a challenge, isn’t it, to preserve the integrity and the ‘face’ of the brand with today’s consumer perspective of the direction that brands should be taking?
AV: And that’s what makes it so interesting for me. I think this is what makes our jobs so fascinating. How do you continue to create this experience? Because it is an experience
that you sell, that people enjoy and do it better – in a way that’s improved because you have less impact on the environment?
So there are things we’re working on, and you will see more and more initiatives towards this direction for sure.
But for the 300th Anniversary Coupe, specifically, we designed the shape of the bottle in collaboration with the family, it also pays homage to the 250th Anniversary Coupe created in 1974. The javelin engraved in the glass is like a candle for a birthday, and it is a symbol of transmission. It’s like a pattern that we used across all elements we created for this celebration.
PM: So what’s the recommended retail price for this bottle?
AV: It’s about 2500 euros.
PM: So it’s really collectible, not drinkable?
AV: It’s maybe both. Some collect it, for sure, and some of the lucky people will taste it and appreciate it.
PM: I sampled some in Singapore, but not enough.
AV: It’s an incredible blend. We also launched a book, actually, which is called The Spirit of Cognac: Rémy Martin: Three Hundred Years of Savoir Faire, which tells the story of Rémy Martin for the last three hundred years.
PM: That’s wonderful.
AV: On your way back home, you can read it! You can buy it in the maison’s boutique. I think it’s about bringing entertainment, joyfulness, because it’s a privilege to drink cognac, it’s always a good moment. Most of the time with friends or colleagues but, at the same time, stick to who you are, I think that’s the key.
PM: One final question, Amaury. If there were three things that you want to communicate to the trade, what would they be?
AV: I like this question because it makes you look at things with perspective. The domestic and travel retail markets are so diverse and different, expectations are different, but there are common threads. The first would be: trust us, because we are doing our best to make the best quality products. Then I would say, expect us to continue to be innovative in the experiences that we create with clients. It’s really important for us to get feedback from the trade because they are the people closest to our clients.
We love to get feedback, we love to get insights about ideas, collaborations. Not just commercial, but new experiences we can create for clients. That’s what we like.
And think long term. Again I think we tend to focus sometimes on the commercial part which is really short term, but we build brands for the next decades, not for the next six months.
The partnerships we build are about long term, and the things you get the most out of are long term partnerships that you have in your career. So that’s progression.
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