COGNAC
COGNAC BRANDS
The Cognac division includes the brands of The House of Rémy Martin (Rémy Martin and Louis XIII) and the House of Brillet. These cognacs are made exclusively from eaux-de-vie sourced in Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne, the two leading crus of the Cognac appellation, which offer the greatest ageing potential (more than 100 years, for some Grande Champagne eaux-de-vie).
The House of Rémy Martin is positioned in the high-end segment, with four flagship products:
- VSOP Fine Champagne ;
- the "intermediate" quality products: 1738 Accord Royal and CLUB;
- XO Excellence Fine Champagne ;
- Louis XIII Grande Champagne.
COMPETITIVE POSITIONING
Four Cognac brands share around 84% of the world market by volume and nearly 88% by value (source: IWSR): Hennessy (LVMH), Martell (Pernod Ricard), House of Rémy Martin (Rémy Cointreau), and Courvoisier (Suntory). Rémy Martin’s market share of cognac shipments for all qualities combined is 13.6% by volume (source: BNIC March 2022), up +0.5 pts compared to March 2021. Virtually all the shipments of the House of Rémy Martin are for the superior quality segment (VSOP and XO qualities), which accounts for 51.1% of the total cognac market (BNIC March 2022).
Worldwide cognac shipments by quality
(source: BNIC)
COGNAC APPELLATION D’ORIGINE CONTRÔLÉE
AND "FINE CHAMPAGNE"
Cognac is an appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC) brandy (eaux-de-vie distilled from grapes) that comes from vineyards in the Cognac region (south-west France). The appellation covers six crus: Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Borderies, Fins Bois, Bons Bois and Bois Ordinaires. "Fine Champagne", which refers to a cognac made exclusively from the first two crus, Grande Champagne (at least 50%) and Petite Champagne make up a separate appellation d’origine contrôlée within the Cognac AOC.
Rémy Martin only selects its eaux-de-vie from the "Fine Champagne" (Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne) AOC, whose quality is best suited to the production of its superior quality cognacs with their longer ageing potential. Cognac is a blend of eaux-de-vie of different vintages (after ageing in oak barrels). Accordingly, there are several quality levels classified in accordance with legal standards (BNIC) based on the youngest eau-de-vie used:
- VS (Very Special), which by law must be aged for a minimum of two years;
- QS (« Qualité Supérieure »), covering all the VSOP and QSS labels;
- VSOP (Very Superior Old Pale), which by law must be aged for a minimum of four years;
- QSS (« Qualité Supérieure Supérieure »), which by law must be aged for a minimum of ten years;
- XO (Extra Old) which is included in the QSS category.