Louis XIII releases Limited Edition Rare Cask

LOUIS XIII set to release Rare Cask 42.1, the latest limited-edition cognac in the Rare Cask Legacy.

Rare Cask 42.1 is LOUIS XIII’s third Rare Cask limited edition revealing LOUIS XIII’s ultimate expression to the world ten years after the debut of Rare Cask 42.6 in 2013.

In the Grande Champagne Cru of Cognac, France, fifth-generation Cellar Master Baptiste Loiseau, discovered a single tiercon containing a particularly aromatic profile in the cellars of Domaine du Grollet, the home of the LOUIS XIII Legacy.

Each of LOUIS XIII’s tiercons are made from French oak trees that take over 100 years to reach maturity, containing eaux-de-vie sourced from Grande Champagne’s terroir. This ageing process gives Rare Cask 42.1 its complexity. LOUIS XIII says the cognac’s aromatic profile is an expression never encountered before with an unexpected 42.1% ABV, hence the name.

To complement Rare Cask 42.1’s expression and rarity, each of the 775 limited-edition is numbered and crafted from black Baccarat crystal with a jewel-like black finish, hand-made by 20 master craftsmen. Each decanter’s neck is dressed in gold and rhodium finished details and finely engraved with quadrilobed patterns in reference to France’s Fleur-de-lis.

Rare Cask 42.1 is the first Rare Cask edition from Louis XIII to be presented as a ritual set. The black crystal decanter is accompanied by a pair of glasses, each glass adorned with black quatrefoils and a serving pipette featuring a black medallion.

“While the singularity of a Rare Cask rests on the wonder of nature and the ageing of eaux-de-vie, the know-how that it requires to produce is an art form, passed on from generation to generation, where each Cellar Master perpetuates the gestures of his predecessors,” says Baptiste Loiseau.

The meticulous tasting of the eaux-de-vie as they age, in the endless transmission of savoir-faire, is part of the lifelong purpose of each Cellar Master to preserve the Louis XIII Legacy. Rare Cask 43.8 was released in 2009 by previous Cellar Master Pierrette Trichet, and Rare Cask 42.6 in 2013 when Baptiste Loiseau and Pierrette Trichet were collaborating. For the third time in history, in an unexpected departure from the ordinary passage of time, Baptiste Loiseau releases Rare Cask 42.1.

“To discover Rare Cask 42.1, I listened to my instincts and favoured emotion to science. I call upon my memories,” remarks Loiseau.