Rémy Martin Extra Fine Champagne Cognac Review: Taste and Price

After exploring Hennessy Paradis and Tesseron Royal Blend, I wanted to spend some time with another well-known house from Cognac. My next choice was Rémy Martin Extra Fine Champagne Cognac, an older bottling presented in a curved decanter bearing the familiar centaur emblem. The presentation made a good first impression and left me curious about the cognac behind it.

Before getting to the tasting, there are a few things worth understanding about Extra, including what Fine Champagne means and how this expression compares with XO. From there, I could turn to the glass itself and the question that comes with any expensive bottle: whether the pleasure justifies the price.

The House of Rémy Martin

Rémy Martin was founded in 1724 and celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2024. The house is part of the Rémy Cointreau group, and its identity has long been closely tied to Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne. One familiar detail is the centaur emblem, chosen by Paul-Émile Rémy Martin in 1870 and still immediately recognizable on the bottle.

Time was the part of the story that interested me most. Cognac begins as wine, becomes eau-de-vie through distillation and develops in oak before the cellar master brings different components together. With an older blend such as Extra, the finished character reflects both aging and those blending decisions. The number of years is useful context; the pleasure still has to arrive in the glass.

What Does Fine Champagne Cognac Mean?

Fine Champagne Cognac is a blend of eaux-de-vie from Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne, with at least 50% coming from Grande Champagne. These are two growing areas within the Cognac region of France. The designation identifies where the distilled wine spirits originate; it does not mean that Champagne wine has been added to the bottle.

For this older Extra expression, The Whisky Exchange describes a blend of 90% Grande Champagne and 10% Petite Champagne, using eaux-de-vie aged between 20 and 50 years. Those are retailer-reported details about the components, not a statement that the entire cognac is 50 years old. They should also be kept specific to this bottling, without applying them to every Rémy Martin product carrying the Fine Champagne designation.

Distillation on the Lees

Rémy Martin describes distilling its wines with their lees, the residual yeast from fermentation, in small copper stills. The house associates this method with greater aromatic depth. This is the useful meaning of “on the lees” here: the yeast sediment remains with the wine for distillation. It gives some background to the production method without replacing the evidence of the tasting itself.

Rémy Martin Extra Packaging and Bottle Sizes

The packaging I reviewed used a cardboard presentation box with the centaur logo and a clean beige interior. That plain background suited the flattened, curved decanter well, giving the bottle room to stand out. Extra has appeared in both 35 cl and 70 cl formats, so check the capacity when comparing listings: a 350 ml bottle contains half as much cognac as a 700 ml bottle. The larger format checked for this update is bottled at 40% ABV.

Rémy Martin Extra Fine Champagne Cognac Tasting Notes

Dried fruit, oak and a light cigar-tobacco aroma defined my tasting of Rémy Martin Extra. After noticing its dark amber color, I found dried fruits first on the nose, followed by woody hints and then that quieter tobacco note. The sequence gave the aroma some depth without making it difficult to follow. I enjoyed being able to pick out those elements individually before taking a sip.

On the palate, the entry was complex and well-rounded, with dried fruit and oak becoming more direct through a warming middle. The finish was the strongest part of the experience. In my original notes, I recorded fruitiness lingering for more than 20 minutes, a personal impression of that tasting rather than a promise for every pour. The flavors stayed in balance as they faded, and that persistence explains why the finish received my highest category score.

How I Would Drink and Pair This Cognac

My preference for Rémy Martin Extra would be a small pour with enough time to follow its changing aromas and finish. Some drinkers might think of a cigar pairing; my imagination went straight to food. I would pair it with a pear poached in red wine, pan-seared foie gras and crisp jamón ibérico, with a sweet, smooth port-wine espuma alongside. This was a pairing idea from the original review, not a dish I tasted with the cognac.

The connection between cognac and dining also appeared in our coverage of Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur. In December 2018, the hotel announced a LOUIS XIII pairing experience in a private room at Yun House named for that cognac. It is a separate expression from Extra, and the announcement belongs to that period; it is useful background to the photograph below, not a current dining offer.

Rémy Martin Extra Price and Availability

The original 2019 review quoted $330 to $500 for a 700 ml decanter. That is a historical price range, not today’s buying guide. When checked in October 2026, Whisky Online Cyprus listed a boxed 700 ml bottle at €750. This is one retailer’s asking price for an older bottle, not an auction result or a general market valuation.

Extra is absent from the current international collection page I checked on Rémy Martin’s website, while specialist shops and auction houses still carry listings for older bottles. The Whisky Exchange marked its 700 ml listing as unavailable. Compare the exact edition, bottle size, fill level, seal and box condition, and include any buyer’s premium and delivery charges when considering an auction purchase. A current listing alone does not establish an official discontinuation date.

Extra Compared with XO

My original assessment placed Extra above XO in drinking pleasure, with a smaller improvement in value. I considered XO the more economical choice, and the value score here remains tied to that original assessment. “Extra” also needs care as a label: the BNIC lists both Extra and XO among the terms requiring at least 10 years of aging for the youngest component under current rules. Extra is not automatically a separate legal age tier above XO; the reported older components describe this particular blend.

Conclusion

Rémy Martin Extra suited the kind of tasting I enjoy: recognizable fruit and wood, a rounded palate and enough persistence to keep my attention after the glass was set down. I would choose it for someone who values that slow unfolding of flavor and appreciates the older decanter presentation. The finish remains the clearest reason to seek it out. At a substantial collector’s asking price, the decision also depends on how much you value this specific bottling; my enthusiasm for the cognac never made its cost disappear.

Rémy Martin Extra Fine Champagne Cognac Review Card

• 8.8/10
  PACKAGING – BOTTLE 8.8/10
• 9.1/10
  ON THE NOSE 9.1/10
• 9.4/10
  ON THE PALATE 9.4/10
• 9.5/10
  FINISH 9.5/10
• 8.2/10
  VALUE 8.2/10

Product Details

Frequently Asked Questions About Rémy Martin Extra

Sources and Further Reading

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