Remy Martin VSOP Fine Champagne Cognac - 1970s

Born in 1695, Rémy Martin was a vintner who diversified into selling cognac in 1724. The business passed to Martin’s grandson (also named Rémy Martin) in the 1770s, and to his descendant Paul-Emile-Rémy Martin, in 1841. It was the latter who introduced the famous centaur logo in 1870, and in 1874 for the company’s 150th anniversary he created the prestige blend that would later become Rémy Martin Louis XIII. In 1924, André Renaud, who had been with the company since 1910, assumed full control, introducing the iconic Rémy Martin VSOP Fine Champagne cognac in 1927. 

Fine Champagne cognac is made using only the top two cognac crus, Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne, and Rémy Martin accounts for over 80% of global Fine Champagne cognac sales. André Renaud’s son-in-law André Hériard-Dubreuil took over Rémy in 1965 and focused on luxury, buying the Heidsieck & Krug champagne brands and Mount Gay Rum in the 1980s and merging with Cointreau in 1990 to create Rémy-Cointreau; after selling their champagne brands, the company bought Bruichladdich distillery in 2012.