After bumps in the road of their relationship, the big Cognac houses are attempting to woo back China with special editions of some of their higher-end expressions
The drinks industry is often the headline-grabbing victim of trade disputes in less glamorous sectors precisely because it involves high-profile brands. China has long loved Cognac – it was for decades a favourite banquet drink – but hit the French brandy with the blunt-force trauma of tariffs in 2024.
The dispute was settled a year later and so, like a spouse trying to rekindle the romance, three of the big four Cognac houses have released love letters to China to celebrate the Year of the Horse, in time for Lunar New Year on 17 February. Here are our highlights:
Martell Limited Editions by He Datian
Martell has gone the furthest of the three producers. First, it has produced special editions of its core cognacs from VSOP to Cordon Bleu. The maison has collaborated with artist He Datian, who has a reputation for his finely detailed horse paintings. Each expression has a different picture of a horse in dynamic motion on the box and painted bottle – the extra-old Cordon Bleu, for example, shows the shadow of a horse changing direction against gold and red highlights. He is also an accomplished calligrapher and has combined and reshaped Chinese characters to create equine echoes.
Martell Limited Editions by He Datian: VSOP, €79; Noblige, €87; Cordon Bleu, €211, from shop.cognatheque.com; martell.com
L’Or de Jean Martell Zodiac Edition, Assemblage du Cheval
Martell has gone a step further by producing an entirely new cognac for the occasion. L’Or de Jean Martell is the maison’s prestige blend, elegant but intense. It’s not only repackaged here. For this release (500 decanters worldwide), cellar master Christophe Valtaud has assembled an enriched version of the classic blend of Grande Champagne and Borderies eaux de vie, with more notes of red fruit, blackcurrant, as well as honey and floral overtones. It does have its own setting too: a teardrop-shaped, handblown Baccarat decanter with a red crystal stopper shaped as a horse’s head.
€11,840 from cognatheque.com; martell.com
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Martell Limited Editions by He Datian
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L’Or de Jean Martell Zodiac Edition, Assemblage du Cheval
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Hennessy Lunar New Year Editions
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Rémy Martin Limited Editions by Xue Song
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Martell Limited Editions by He Datian
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L’Or de Jean Martell Zodiac Edition, Assemblage du Cheval
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Hennessy Lunar New Year Editions
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Rémy Martin Limited Editions by Xue Song
Hennessy Lunar New Year Editions
Hennessy has taken slightly more tentative steps to rekindle the Chinese love affair with its cognac. A redesign of the VSOP, XO and Paradis bottles includes a copper and red motif (the latter being a propitious colour), with an equine outline by multi-media artist Xu Zhen that resembles the terracotta army’s horses.
The Hennessy Chinese New Year 2026 collection is available now at Selfridges and Amazon: Hennessy VSOP from £65; Hennessy XO from £210; Paradis, £1,417 (excl tax) from cognac-expert.com and available in-store at Hennessy boutique, Harrods; hennessy.com
Rémy Martin Limited Editions by Xue Song
Rémy Martin had a head start when it came to the Year of the Horse – its symbol is a javelin-toting centaur. So the maison invited Chinese artist Xue Song, who fuses traditional Chinese imagery with a western Pop Art sentiment, to work with that. Using collaged material from the company’s archives, he created a large artwork showing the centaur leading a pack of galloping wild horses. This image appears on a gift pack for the Rémy Martin XO, and is echoed on the bottle. There is also a cocktail for the occasion – a cognac old fashioned, mixed with 10ml mandarin liquor with 50ml XO, brown sugar, bitters and a mandarin segment.
Remy Martin XO Lunar New Year 2026 Edition is available from shop.cognatheque.com, €249; remymartin.com
