• Valentino Sciotti Brings the Fantini Story to Armenia

  Fantini Group founder Valentino Sciotti visited Armenia for the first time at the invitation of VINO&VINO. At VINO&VINO’s venue on Mashtots Avenue, he presented a selection of Fantini wines and met with Armenian wine enthusiasts, sharing the story of the brand, the principles behind his work and the regions that shape the character of its wines․․․

• "I Was Given a Second Chance. It Would Be Strange to Live It Without a Smile": Winemaker Aleksandr Arakelyan on Pursuing His Dream Against All Odds

  I have to live both for myself and for those guys who will never again get to smile, start a family, work, or chase a dream. I was given the gift of an extension on life. Turning my back on it by living in misery would be the ultimate disrespect to their memory...

• From Consumer to Connoisseur

  How wine education changes the way people choose, enjoy, and work with wine...

• Melonpan Group Became Special Partner of Yerevan Wine Days 2026

  Melonpan presented a festival menu with signature gelato and specialty coffee...

• Yerevan Wine Days 2026: A Toast to Ten Years and a Look into the Future

  Throughout the three-day event, Saryan, Tumanyan, and Moskovyan streets transformed into a massive pedestrian artery, carrying a non-stop flow of people. Tourists snapping photos, locals unwinding after work, winemakers, bloggers, and journalists drifted between dozens of pavilions, live music stages, and food zones...

• Yerevan Wine Days: The City Danced While Politics Took a Back Seat  

  Election tensions and Armenia’s parliamentary race did not stop locals and visitors from enjoying wine and dancing at the Yerevan Wine Days festival. Our photographer Nastya Shevchenko went “hunting” for the brightest looks, stylish outfits, and the festive atmosphere in the very heart of Yerevan...

• “Forty Thousand Bottles of Stalin”: Secret Wine Cellar of Soviet Leader Uncovered in Georgia

  Behind heavy doors of an underground storage facility in central Tbilisi, one of the world’s most unusual wine collections had been hidden for decades. Around forty thousand rare French and Georgian wines — some more than two hundred years old — were linked to the name of Joseph Stalin. Now Georgia has, for the first time, opened access to the legendary cellar and is preparing to send its contents to an international auction...

• Liquid Memory of History: 130-Year-Old Wine Hidden by Nazi Collaborators Recovered Beneath Czech Castle Floor

  Eight bottles of legendary French wine that miraculously survived the turmoil of World War II and decades of communist rule, hidden beneath the floor of a Czech castle, have been carefully restored by the château where they were originally produced around 130 years ago, CBS News reports...

Louis XIII has unveiled a new version of its legendary Black Pearl — an ultra-luxury cognac that comes with its own personal “chilling cellar.” Essentially, it is a sleek, high-tech mini refrigerator designed to keep the cognac at precisely 13°C — the temperature said to prevail in one of the cellars at Rémy Martin, according to Robb Report.

Only 398 sets will be produced, with each priced at $28,000.

Produced by the Rémy Martin cognac house, Louis XIII has long been regarded as one of the world’s most prestigious spirits. It is presented in distinctive decorative decanters, while the blend features exceptionally old eaux-de-vie made from grapes grown in Grande Champagne, the most prestigious cru in the Cognac region.

Louis XIII bottles do not carry an age statement. Here, the art of selecting and blending the eaux-de-vie is considered far more important than a specific number indicating their age.

The Black Pearl edition first appeared in 2007 and was reportedly made with eaux-de-vie ranging from 40 to 100 years old. The new Black Pearl: Tribute to the Birthplace of Louis XIII was created by cellar master Baptiste Loiseau. His goal was to recreate the unique aging conditions of the Le Grollet cellar, where the cognac rested in a separate oak cask known as a tierçon before being bottled.

According to the brand, the foundation of the new blend is an eau-de-vie selected by Loiseau from a specific demijohn. It was originally created by his predecessor, cellar master Pierrette Trichet.

Work on the new Black Pearl took four years. According to Loiseau, the team spent that time searching for precisely the right eaux-de-vie to capture the character of classic Louis XIII at a specific temperature while adding new dimensions to its flavor profile.

The release’s most distinctive feature is its unusual presentation. Each of the 398 decanters is housed in its own “chilling cellar” — essentially an elegant mini refrigerator with built-in lighting that keeps the cognac at exactly 13°C.

According to Louis XIII, this is the temperature characteristic of the Le Grollet cellar.

“Every tasting at Le Grollet is a deeply moving sensory experience,” Baptiste Loiseau said. According to the cellar master, the atmosphere of the cellar — its humidity, coolness and soft, subdued light — allows the aromas of the spirit to unfold in a new way and reveals hidden nuances.

The first sip of Black Pearl is noticeably cooler than a conventional cognac, yet the spirit retains an exceptionally vivid floral character, with notes of rose and lavender. Tannins, spices, fruit, leather and cigar nuances are also present.

But the experience does not end there. In Loiseau’s vision, an essential part of the tasting is observing how the cognac gradually warms in the glass and changes with the temperature. The cellar master describes it as a “journey through different temperatures,” during which the spirit’s flavors gradually unfold.

Black Pearl: Tribute to the Birthplace of Louis XIII will be available by the glass at select luxury venues in Paris, London, New York, Shanghai and Kuala Lumpur.

Follow NEWS.am STYLE on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram