Martell is a

cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cognac production falls under French appella ...

house founded in 1715 by Jean Martell. It is the oldest of the "big four" cognac houses (the others are

Hennessy Jas Hennessy & Co., commonly known simply as Hennessy (), is a French producer of cognac, which has its headquarters in Cognac, France. It is one of the "big four" cognac houses, along with Martell, Courvoisier, and Rémy Martin, who together ma ...

Rémy Martin Rémy Martin () is a French firm that primarily produces and sells cognac. Founded in 1724 and based in the commune of Cognac, it is among the oldest cognac producers still in existence. and one of the "big four" cognac houses (along with Henne ...

and

Courvoisier Courvoisier () is a brand of cognac, with production based in the town of Jarnac in the Charente region of France. It is the youngest and smallest of the "big four" cognac houses (the others are Hennessy, Rémy Martin, and Martell). Courvo ...

), who together produce most of the world's cognac. Formerly owned by the

Seagram The Seagram Company Ltd. (which traded as Seagram's) was a Canadian multinational conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Originally a distiller of Canadian whisky based in Waterloo, Ontario, it was once (in the 1990s) the ...

spirits empire, it is now part of the Martell Mumm Perrier-Jouët (MMPJ) subsidiary of the French wines and spirits conglomerate

Pernod Ricard Pernod Ricard () is a French company best known for its anise-flavoured pastis apéritifs Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis (often referred to simply as ''Pernod'' or '' Ricard''). The world’s second-largest wine and spirits seller, it also pro ...

. Martell's flagship Cordon Bleu, introduced in 1912, was for many years the world's highest-selling premium cognac. By 2015 Martell was producing around 14 million bottles of its cognacs a year, making it the world's second-largest cognac producer behind

History

Jean Martell, a young merchant, was born on the island of

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the ...

in 1694. It was then a location known for

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are variou ...

, which may have led to his involvement in the liquor trade. In 1715 he began his own trading business at Gatebourse in Cognac, on the banks of the

Charente Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; oc, Charanta ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, south western France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, an ...

, and thus founded one of the first cognac houses. Variations of the logo he chose, a

swift Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT, ...

in combination with the Martell family

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

, have been in use ever since. Martell used grapes from the vineyards in the Borderie subregion for his ''eaux-de-vie'', and Tronçais oak for its casks, a combination that resulted in an exceptionally smooth cognac. After the founder's death in 1753, Jean Martell's widow and then his two sons and grandson continued this tradition. They also developed an export business, and by 1814 Martell was the most consumed brandy in England. In 1831, Martell created its first V.S.O.P. cognac. The use of English-language designations like "very superior old pale" and "extra old" reflected aged cognac's status as primarily an export product. In 1795 a marriage between the

and Martell families cemented a strategic alliance that created an effective duopoly in the cognac market. Another marriage followed in 1865. While still in competition, the two companies also made joint decisions, for example introducing the star grading system at the same time. This semi-formal relationship was dissolved in 1947 after the death of Maurice Firino-Martell. In 1912 the marque launched Martell Cordon Bleu at the Hôtel de Paris, its first post-

phylloxera Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belong to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bu ...

cognac. While sold without designation (Martell XO is a distinct product), it is regarded as the oldest XO equivalent cognac still in production, and is widely credited as the first mass-market premium cognac. Martell Cordon Bleu was served at the

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of o ...

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother ...

, on the maiden voyage of the ''

RMS Queen Mary RMS ''Queen Mary'' is a retired British ocean liner that sailed primarily on the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard-White Star Line and was built by John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland. ''Queen Mary'', along with ...

'', and on board the

Concorde The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France an ...

. In 1987,

took control of Martell in a deal worth around $600 million, reportedly attracted by cognac's high

profit margin Profit margin is a measure of profitability. It is calculated by finding the profit as a percentage of the revenue. \text = = There are 3 types of profit margins: gross profit margin, operating profit margin and net profit margin. * Gross Pro ...

. According to the ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', Seagram largely neglected the brand, and while other cognac producers experienced a boom in the 1990s, driven by increased consumption among

African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, Martell's sales declined. By 1998 it was selling less cognac in the United States than all of the other big four producers. Seagram was broken up in 2001, and Martell was acquired by Pernod Ricard. Pernod repositioned the brand, making efforts to attract new consumers with multiple new product lines: Martell XO (released 2005), Martell Création Grand Extra (released 2007, in a bottle designed by the artist and glass designer Serge Mansau), L'Or de Jean Martell (released 2009). In 2011 the marque Martell expanded into an "ultra-prestige" range with Martell Chanteloup Perspective, a tribute to the know-how of the cellar masters and to the

Domaine de Chanteloup An estate is a large parcel of land under single ownership, which would historically generate income for its owner. British context In the UK, historically an estate comprises the houses, outbuildings, supporting farmland, and woods that s ...

. In 2006, Martell joined the

Comité Colbert The Comité Colbert is an association "to promote the concept of luxury." The members are 81 French luxury brands. It was founded in 1954 by Jean-Jacques Guerlain. ''Métiers'' or Trade Sectors The association is divided into thirteen métiers ...

, an association that promotes French luxury houses on an international scale. In 2010, Martell renewed its sponsorship with the

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

, which began in 2007, by supporting the restoration of the Queen's antechamber.

Products

Martell selects crus from the Cognac region: Les Borderies, Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne and Fins Bois. * Martell VSOP Médaillon * Martell Noblige Cognac * Martell Cordon Bleu * Martell XO * Martell Chanteloup * Martell Création * Martell Cohiba * Martell L’Or de Jean * Martell Blue Swift

Marketing

Martell sponsored the

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap st ...

horse race between 1992 and 2004. Like its chief rival Hennessy, Martell has targeted

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

consumers in the United States. In 2022 it teamed with

Janelle Monáe Janelle Monáe Robinson (; born December 1, 1985) is an American singer, rapper and actress. She is signed to Atlantic Records, as well as to her own imprint, the Wondaland Arts Society. Monáe has received eight Grammy Award nominations. Mon� ...

in a campaign celebrating black mixologists.

In popular culture

A bottle of Martell Cordon Bleu can be seen in the opening scene of ''

Apocalypse Now ''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius and Michael Herr, is loosely based on the 1899 novella '' Heart of Darkness'' by Joseph ...

,'' on the bedside table of Captain Willard (played by

Martin Sheen Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films ''The Subject Was Roses'' (1968) and ''Badlands'' (1973), and later achieved wid ...

References

External links