Watches And Cognac: Jaeger-Lecoultre And Louis XIII
Subtle Complexity: Since 1724, the House of Rémy Martin has produced premium cognacs that consistently appeal to the world’s most discerning connoisseurs. A profound love of the land, a continuity of family ownership and a passionate commitment to excellence has sustained Rémy Martin for nearly three centuries. Known as the King of Cognacs, LOUIS XIII has been widely recognized as one of the world’s finest cognacs. It represents an intricate alchemy blended from 1,200 eaux-de-vie, created from Ugni Blanc grapes born of the soft chalky soils of Grande Champagne, the finest and most coveted growing area at the heart of France’s Cognac region. The storied journey of each bottle of LOUIS XIII takes up to 100 years to complete, as three different generations of Cellar Masters oversee each bottle’s evolution from grapes to glass, functioning as servants of time who will never see the culmination of their work. The result is a delicate balance of savoir-faire and craftsmanship, as well as decades of careful attention and, quite simply, patience.
Tasting Notes: on the nose: you’ll experience sweet notes of sherry, followed by liquorice, vanilla, cinnamon and demerara sugar. After a couple of swirls in the glass more notes are released in the form of, chocolate, tobacco, lavender, jasmine, plums, lychee, red apples, pineapple and marzipan. Rounding of the nose are notes of orange peel, maraschino cherries and a hint of oak. On the palate: complex notes of apricots, peaches, plum and vanilla make the taste buds tingle. Followed by notes of apples, cinnamon, light spices, liquorice and almonds. The finish: is long, sweet, spicy and floral, with a lingering perfume note like parma violets.
The verdict: Louis XIII is synonymous with excellence and while this doesn’t always ring true for other cognacs – this bottling of Grande Champagne Cognac is absolutely sublime. Whether you are a lover of fine Cognac or not Louis XIII simply has to be enjoyed to be understood. With its plethora of undulating notes available on both the nose and palate, it has to be experienced on its own to be fully appreciated. With an ABV of 40% this is more than achievable, without the need to add anything else but if I may add one suggestion it is this. After pouring, leave it to breathe for some time before tasting.
Info: ABV 40% in a 70cl bottle
Elegant Complexity: Jaeger-LeCoultre is no strangers to creating complicated timepieces but what Jaeger strive for is complexity and elegance, these two traits are more than noticeable in the Master Ultra-Thin Perpetual Calendar wristwatch. Jaeger-LeCoultre has united its endeavors in creating an extremely slim mechanism equipped with a complete calendar, with an arrangement that is simplistic and elegant, yet still legible.
The Master Ultra-Thin Perpetual features the same pure design, which combine classical elements with the aesthetic inspiration of the Grande Maison. The clear and distinctive layout makes reading the Master Ultra-Thin easy and avoids any confusion. In addition to the hour, minute and central seconds hands, it comprises three counters dedicated to the perpetual calendar displays: the first at 9 o’clock for the day of the week; the second at 3 o’clock for the date; and the third at 6 o’clock for the month. Jaeger- LeCoultre’s distinctive signature appears below the moon phase. In addition to this comprehensive range of information, a perpetual calendar function must also indicate the current year, and on the Master Ultra-Thin Perpetual, a full four-digit display appears through a small aperture at 7 o’clock.
Beating away at the heart of the Master Ultra-Thin Perpetual is the newly, in-house, designed calibre 868, which boasts 38-hours of power reserve and measures a mere 4.72 mm in thickness that enables the timepiece to be so thin. Measuring just 39 mm in diameter and 9.2 mm thick, the Master Ultra-Thin Perpetual comes in three variations distinguished by the material. The first features an 18-carat pink gold case framing an eggshell-white dial, while the 18-carat white gold version comes with a grained silver-toned dial. Finally, the steel model available exclusively from Jaeger-LeCoultre boutiques is graced with a sunburst silver-toned dial. Whatever metal the Master Ultra-Thin Perpetual comes in, one thing is sure – its elegance and complexity are unmatched.
