May 25, 2025 – My first memory of cognac dates to a college dance, where a guy wearing a tweed jacket suddenly whisked me from the sidelines and began spinning me around the floor.
“Just follow my lead!” he said, and I did until, breathless, he stopped for refreshment. Eschewing the dismal punch usually served at Harvard parties, he pulled a small silver flask from his inside pocket, took a swig, then offered it to me.
“Henessey,” was all he said. And then we were off for another whirl until he found someone more interesting.
Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of tasting a few cognacs (which brings to mind the prized and much-missed Osocalis XO, made by local talents, Jeff Emery and Dan Farber), with fond memories of Christmas Eve nightcaps of Armagnac with my dad.
At this year’s Pebble Beach Food and Wine, I was lucky enough to take part in the Louis XIII Grand Champagne Cognac tasting, which featured Rémy Martin Tercet, Rémy Martin XO and the coveted Louis XIII, which derives from 150-year-old French barrels into which only the finest eau de vie spirit is selected to rest for up to 100 years.
It takes ten liters of wine, sourced from the many wineries that are part of the mix, at seven-to-ten-percent alcohol, to produce one liter of the 70% alcohol eau-de-vie that eventually makes it into barrels. This is an incredibly painstaking and time-intensive process.
It’s like reducing Big Ben to a wristwatch.
Knowing what I do about evaporation, I could only imagine the angel’s share that is sacrificed in the process of creating this exquisite liquor. After trying the lively, fruity, exuberant and invigorating Tercet, the brainchild of the current distiller, followed by the earthy, autumnal, chocolatey and toffee-rich XO, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the King.
We were beckoned outside for the ultimate backdrop, Pacific Ocean barely glinting at us through sullen sky. An ounce or so of history was poured into the most perfect crystal glasses, made for maximizing the glorious spirit. Each drop had rested in a barrel older than any other manmade element that surrounded us. The barrels had survived WWII and all its horrors, plus every other human drama that has followed. Drinking it around a firepit with the endless ocean to the west, felt ceremonial.
The precious liquid rested in a LOUIS XIII decanter first created in 1874, when Paul-Émile Rémy Martin produced the first LOUIS XIII cognac. Apparently, he found the historic flask on a battlefield in Jarnac, France. It’s believed to date back to 1569, and had an intriguing shape with three distinctive fleurs-de-lys. Maybe it’s myth. Does it matter?
We were encouraged to try this cognac with caviar and the finest jamon, to accentuate the saltiness. Truly, it is best on its own, to savor the depth and harmony. As you look down into the glass, the cut resembles a sunflower. Warm orange and amber, it reflects the light it hasn’t seen in 100 years.
One of the attendees excitedly called his dad, a huge cognac fan, to share the experience. “Dad! I’m tasting Louis XIII! At Pebble! With caviar! Man, I feel rich!”
Rich, indeed. While the Tercet will set you back $250, and the XO $350, Louis XIII will relieve $4k from your stash quicker than a rough day on stock market. Don’t even think about tariffs.
“This is like buying art,” the Rémy rep told me. “The large bottles are upwards of $10k, and are collector’s items.”
He does events like this for private collectors, parties and at high end events like Pebble. I asked him what he wishes people would not do when they were drinking cognac.
“Use a snifter,” he said. “The wide mouth sends all that alcohol right into your face.” This is why the smaller crystal glasses, made by Baccarat, are hauled to every Louis XIII tasting. There’s a whole world of merch surrounding this Louis XIII ritual. Gotta hand it to the King for starting a revered tradition that like time cannot be rushed: only underappreciated.
Chat With Brett Friedman
Chairman of a21, the events company that has been producing PBFW since its resurrection in 2024, the congenial Brett Friedman, showed up for the Louis XIII seminar with a broad, enthusiastic smile, pleased at the diverse group of attendees, which ranged from mid 30s to well past middle age (me and a few others).
As the sun tried to throw us a few rays through the furrowed clouds, he told me they’d made a concerted effort to attract more consumers to this event and a more diverse set of consumers at that. “You can’t beat this venue, and we have more chefs wanting to participate every year,” he said, while we savored the amber liquid from the crystal gasses around the firepit.
He hinted at perhaps doing more trade-oriented seminars and events, to feed that need. He observed that at least half the people who show up for Opening Night are in the hospitality industry. From my observation, the crowd involved in putting on the event and attending it this year, was far more diverse than ever before. (And go ahead and sue me, for promoting diversity as a good thing.)
Mediterranean by the Sea was the name of the lunch I attended before the cognac seminar. It was held at Péppoli, and we had quite a mix of experiences. My tablemates were from all over the country, and the world, including a lovely woman who lives in Chicago but grew up in Mumbai. She and her friend stumbled upon the lunch while staying with their husbands at Post Ranch Inn, an experience they were thoroughly enjoying.
Their husbands had booked tee times at Spyglass for Friday and the women needed something to do, so they ended up booking the PBFW lunch at Spanish Bay. It was kismet we ended up together, along with folks from Texas, Virginia, Massachusetts and Sonoma. We all universally loved the Pea Party salad, which I am definitely going to make, by Ayesha Nivdjaja, featuring snap peas, snow peas, asparagus and labne, with a vinaigrette seasoned with zhoug, a spicy cilantro and jalapeño sauce.
The wine pairing of the 2023 Saracina Sauvignon Blanc with this dish was brilliant: it smells like spring, with fragrant lemon verbena, chamomile and lime zest, and romps across the palate like an electrical storm of grapefruit and pineapple juiciness that engages every part of your mouth. Saracina is in Mendocino County, just outside of Hopland, and the winemaker is Alex MacGregor, a Canadian who consistently makes amazing SB from mostly organic sites. This might have been the best wine of the meal, and at $24, it’s an awesome value for a wine that got 95 points from Wine Enthusiast.
The next course, presented by Maria Loi, was a Greek poached shrimp dish called Garides Kerkyraikes, and was served over orzo with tomato, white wine and feta. It was absolutely perfect. The wine, a rosato from Italy, sadly wasn’t up to the task, which is why it’s always a good idea to grab a glass of Champagne at these kinds of events before the food starts coming out, even if you are indulging in cocktails during the hors d’oeuvres hour.
We had the great fortune of being poured Nicolas Feuillatte Réserve Exclusive Brut Champagne, which for the price (you can find it at Safeway for under $50), is an absolute no brainer. No wonder it is a top seller in France. The formula of 40% Pinot Meunier and 40% Pinot Noir, along with 20% Chardonnay, gives it the stuffing to produce one flavorful, fruity, fresh and delicious beverage that stands up well to food. In this case, it was the far better pairing.
We also loved the 2024 Sella & Mosca La Cala Vermentino, a robust take on the grape from Italy, where they happily pair it with seafood. The dish of Za’atar baked fluke with olive oil crushed potatoes, leeks and kalamata olives, presented by chef Marc Murphy, needed a bit of tuning. Sometimes all you need is a generous squeeze of lemon or a touch of red pepper heat. The wine had weight and breadth and might have done better with the previous course.
There are few proteins that love spice as much as duck, but it’s also too easy to overdo it. The spice roasted duck breast from Stephanie Izard of Girl and the Goat in Chicago, and now also in LA, where she recently moved, had a coarse chop of herbs and spices, including ginger and chiles, and was served with fennel confit and lentils. Although the duck was cooked perfectly, it again needed a splash of apricot brandy, Cointreau, ginger liqueur or even a squeeze of yuzu to take it up a notch. The age-old adage of it needing some kind of acid to counter the fat is a good one. The wine served with this dish, a rather tired Brunello di Montalcino, missed the mark by a mile, and was better suited to a baked rigatoni with boar sausage. Instead, the dish needed a Pinot Noir, a Sangiovese or a bright Sicilian red like Nerelo Mascalese. Again, though, that Nicolas Feuillatte Réserve Exclusive Brut showed itself nicely. Had they paired the duck with the Nicolas Feuillatte Réserve Exclusive Rosé, though, that would have been the cat’s meow.
The meal ended with a saffron olive oil cake by Caroline Schiff, who decorated the plate with wine roasted grapes, candied almonds and whipped honey goat cheese. It was rich and divine with the 2022 Planeta Passito di Noto Moscato, a dessert wine from that most versatile, yet singular, grape, Moscato.
Like Lucille Ball wearing multiple costumes, the permutations pf Moscato are always different, but the core personality remains the same.
Laura Ness is a longtime wine journalist, columnist and judge who contributes regularly to Edible Monterey Bay, Spirited, WineOh.Tv, Los Gatos Magazine and Wine Industry Network, and a variety of consumer publications. Her passion is telling stories about the intriguing characters who inhabit the fascinating world of wine and food.
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