The legendary cognac is blended from 1200 eau-de-vie (French for water of life), aged from 40 to 100 years in centaury old oak casks and then presented in an iconic crystal decanter that is inspired by a metal flask lost in 1569 on the battlefield of Jarnac.
The quest to find the oldest decanter of LOUIS XIII began in Asia as the initial consignment was sent to South Asia in 1881. 45 cases were offloaded in Kolkata for the 3 merchants in three cities – Kolkata (Emsthausen et Oesterley), Chennai (Binvy & Co) & Mumbai (J. Fleming & Co). The House of Remy Martin has the records of all the consignment. The "Quest for a Legend" started on February 23, 2015 and will conclude on March 16, 2015. Christophe Bourrie, Regional Director of LOUIS XIII (SEA, India and Middle East) is hopeful that they can find 250 decanters in Asia. The 24 carat gold plated neck crystal decanter has undergone only 4-5 changes in 140 years.
We attended the launch at the Oberoi’s Gurgaon where Marie-Amélie Jacquet, fourth generation of the founding family said “the quest is not a race against time, it is time itself that we are after. As the curators of the legacy we need to protect the heritage.”
The competition guidelines are mentioned below and gull terms and conditions will be made available at a later date.· The contest entry period is between 23 February 2015 and 16 March 2015· To enter the competition, participants in the competition must send photos of their unopened LOUIS XIII bottle via SMS Text, Whatsapp or to the local Rémy Martin office. Entries can also be submitted online at www.quest.louisxiii-cognac.com/index.html· Participants need to provide their full name, age, ID, contact information, nationality and details on how they had obtained the bottle of LOUIS XIII· Participants can submit more than one bottle· The LOUIS XIII team will follow up with each submission individually· The winner will be chosen by an expert committee who will assess each bottle with a set criteria· Rémy Cointreau International (RCI) reserves the right to make the final decision
The terms & conditions of the quest:Participants· Must be the legal owner of the bottle· Must be citizens or residents of the participating countries· Must be 25 years of age in India· Must agree to absolve LOUIS XIII/RCI from any liability with regard to the handling of the entry bottle
Bottle
· The bottle must be unopened, with at least 50% of original liquid (this will be verified by RCI and the House of Rémy Martin)
The grand prize is a trip to the Rémy Martin Estate in Cognac, France which includes:· Two return Business class air tickets· Two first class return train tickets between Paris and Angouleme· Car pick-up transfer to the Estate· A hosted lunch at the Estate· Guided Tour of the Estate, grounds, cellars and distillery· A tasting of LOUIS XIII and Dinner· One night’s accommodation in the Cognac region.