Of course, this also means that the need for greater depth of knowledge of cognacs and brandies has grown, and as from next year we will be introducing a different monthly mailing, which will include more opportunities for you to learn more about our wonderful brandies.

We hope that you will still enjoy reading about them!

The firm was founded in 1893 by Prosper Delord, a travelling distiller who fell in love with the wonderfully fruity eaux de vie of the region. The firm became known as Delord Brothers when his two sons, Gaston and Georges took over the distillery. They were equally passionate about the wonderful spirits they were able to make. More recently Jacques and Pierre Delord have continued the family traditions and have handed down to the current sons, Jerome and Sylvain, ensuring that the family traditions live on.

Grape varieties are the traditional Folle Blanche, Ugni Blanc and Colombard and they still use the old still of their forefathers which is only capable of producing around 30 litres of eau de vie an hour. But a look into their cellars reveals more than 700 x 350 litre barrels, that are home to armagnacs dating from the beginning of the last century.

Delord still use the basquaise flat green bottle, although most of their armagnacs are now shipped in the modern tall bottle, all with hand personalised labels. These armagnacs are all distilled at the lower end of the range and have the wonderfully pruney style.

Delord 20 y.o. Bas Armagnac

Although still quite small, Delord rank amongst the greats in Gascogne. Their distillation is around 60 degrees and this provides many of the traditional prune and fruit flavours of the region but also many of the rich nutty flavours of spirits distilled at a higher range. They are also small enough to have more individuality between vintages although all their armagnacs gain greater maturity with age.

Delord Vintage 1958 Bas Armagnac

One of the best from this wonderful producer. It has great fruit and rancio richness, it is both charming and voluptuous showing an intense dried prune quality.

Much depends on their skills and years of experience. Every distillation will be different, since there are so many factors that can influence the quality of their eau de vie. This is also the time for trade fairs and many small firms will be attending to sell their cognacs all over France. Christmas lunch at a distiller will include regular checking of the stills.

Of course it will be many years before this years hard work is ready for sale as cognac, but more immediately the Eaux de Vie are for sale. For those of you that wish to sample the produce of more recent years vines, we sell a range of Eaux de Vie from Paul Devoille, Nusbaumer and F.Meyer

Paul Devoille - Eau de Vie de Vielle Prune

Prune brandy, a sweet prune eau de vie made with macerated fruits. These spirits are not aged in oak as are dark brandies.

Nusbaumer - Vielle Prune

Prune brandy. This is sweeter than other prune brandies being made from the dried prunes.

F Meyer - Grande Réserve - Mirabelle

Luxury plum eau de vie. This is stronger than normal and has a greater flavour in the spirit.

The Cognac was distilled close to Ambleville in Grande Champagne and has been kept in damp cellars. The cognac has been aged in Limoursin oak barrels for more than 20 years and it has developed a lovely light citric and floral aroma with dry apricot and some honey flavours. It is a light coloured cognac with colours of light straw and gold providing a most unusual combination of finesse and delicacy.

There is very little of this precious cognac available with only about 600 litres left. This cognac provides a wonderful introduction to the cognacs produced in this region. It is an excellent example, displaying the characteristic common to cognacs produced in this area.  Our Score 9/10

Cognac Hermitage 1988 Chez Richon Grande Champagne

The predominant house style of Chez Richon shows through in this cognac although it is rather sweeter and spicier than others from this house

The famous Christmas song Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer started life as a poem created by an American advertising executive called Robert May. He was requested to produce a poem that could be given away to children by the Santa Claus employed by Department Stores at Christmas! Working as an Advertising Executive, Robert May had a natural flair with words and was able to compose the Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer poem. This marketing ploy was a massive success and approximately 2.5 million Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer poems were given away in the first year of its publication!

In 1949 the singer Gene Autry recorded a musical version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer composed by Johnny Marks. In Athens officials say somebody added a little holiday spirit to the deer-crossing signs hereabout: red reflectors on the deer silhouette’s nose and, they assured, if you ever saw one, you would even say it glows. The culprits' identity is a Christmas season mystery that has piqued their curiosity.

The last twelve months of the year have seen the most exciting period in the history of Cognac. The Cognac industry has seen unprecented growth in world markets at a time when it seems that the news is dominated with gloom and economic recession. Markets in China have grown by record levels and that is over last year which was also a record year. Indeed some distributors in China have even had to ration their supplies of cognac.

At Brandyclassics we to have seen good trading, not just in exports but also in the UK, where Pre-phylloxera sales have done well and our internet sales has also seen good growth. However our core business, sales to hotels and restaurants, has been affected by the economic gloom.

But  it's always good to finish the year on a high and this year we are pleased with our success at the Cognac Masters where we have won a total of five medals. These included three masters awards for our Hermitage 1988, 23 year old and 43 year old, as well as the Grand Masters award for outstanding contribution to cognac.

Hermitage Segonzac 43 y.o. Grande Champagne Cognac

Cognac Masters 2011 - Masters Award

This Grande Champagne cognac is probably one of the finest cognacs we have ever tasted. It is produced by a firm in the centre of cognac who produce from three vineyards in the very best parts of the cru. The producer, Paul Beau, has a cognac featured under his own name, but this exceptional vintage cognac is exclusively only available through Brandyclassics.

The concept of Hermitage Pure Vintage Cognacs was formed about fifteen years ago, as we recognised the need to move away from blended cognacs which lacked individuality and failed to promote the age of the cognacs in the bottle. Our customers recognised that older brandies are better than young ones.

The difficulty we recognised is that the distillation of cognac must be to between 67 and 72 degrees alcohol, after which all cognacs take many years to drop naturally to 40%, the commercial selling level of alcohol. The problem was that the commercial pressures to sell in volume was outstripping availability, which put huge pressure on the older stocks available in the thousands of cellars in the region. Those pressures have become far more acute now, with world sales of cognacs at nearly double those of the mid 1990s. which meant that the big houses were creaming off the best vintages for blending.

Although there are many distilleries supplying us, we now have four or five who meet our stringent Hermitage requirements for quality and ageing and adapt their cognacs to meet our customer's needs.

In those fifteen years of Hermitage, we have created some of the very finest cognacs and we have the gold medals for best vintages to prove it.

Cognac Hermitage 1947 Sigogne Fin Bois

Sigogne is in the region just to the north of the town of Cognac and is bordered by Grand Champagne to the south and Borderies to the east, which probably accounts for its rich nuttiness, so often found in the Borderies.

Cognac Hermitage 1906 Grande Champagne

Magnificent and complex cognac with many delicate fruit flavours and more robust walnut and peeled citrus qualities. This is one of the most traditional Grande Champagne cognacs and a real masterpiece for its age.

In a recent disclosure, the drinks firm Beam have claimed that it has taken them 216 years of marketing to realise that ladies drink spirits as well as men. Beams marketing chief asked his team to establish what they were missing out on and introduced a range of spirit based drinks that they feel women will enjoy.

Top of their bunch was a Jim Beam Bourbon infused with black cherry. Since then they have purchased Skinny Girl cocktails and Pucka Vodka. Now guess what? Courvoisier Cognac have introduced Rose Courvoisier, a red wine and cognac mixture.

At Brandyclassics we are already selling the perfect Ladies Cognac. Hermitage 10 y.o. is recognised by bar managers and sommeliers as the perfect Ladies Cognac.

Cognac Hermitage 10 y.o. Jarnac Grande Champagne

Cognac Masters 2010 - Silver Award

Made on a 58 hectare estate in Jarnac Champagne owned by the Vallet Family for generations. The grapes are mainly Ugni Blanc but unusually it also has some Folle Blanche and Colombard. Aged for 10 years in oak barrels the aroma is predominantly apricots which comes out in the flavour along with vanilla, toffee and a little citrus.

Last month, the highest known price for a bottle of Croizet Vintage 1858 Cognac was paid by a Chinese client. The Cognac is one of many the house has in its cellars and the firm is known for its collection of these old cognacs, many of which were bottled and kept in their cellars in St-Même-les-Carrières near Jarnac.

The price paid for the bottle reflects the growing desire of the Chinese to own expensive cognacs, particularly those whose vintages contain a number eight. Although the price is high, the desire for expensive cognac has grown with the market and its association with good luck and status.

Around eighteen years ago Brandyclassics sold twenty four of these bottles to a Swiss gentleman who flew in specially to collect them - he paid about £18,000 for 24 bottles.

Prices have increased somewhat since then!

In addition to our range of exceptional early 20th century cognacs and armagnacs, Brandyclassics have a number of rare 19th Century Pre-phylloxera cognacs available for the discerning Cognac aficionado.

The Nusbaumer Supreme de Cassis is without doubt one of the very finest cassis we have tasted. The blackcurrant flavour is intense and has been describes as even stronger than blackcurrants themselves. It is truly delicious and poured over desserts such as ice crème is enchanting. Nusbaumer also have a number of other macerated fruit eaux de vie including the sour cherry Ratafia de Griottes and the unusual Red Pear, “Williams Rouge”, which has been aged for 20 years. They provide a reasonably priced liqueur which can be served in many ways. Our Score 7/10

Nusbaumer - Suprême de Cassis

Strong blackcurrant flavoured liqueur. It has a huge blackcurrant flavour and tastes stronger than the fresh fruit.