Category: How to make Cognac

Most people regard the Ugni Blanc as the cognac grape variety but there are in fact 8 different varieties allowed in the production of cognac.  The Ugni Blanc is also known as the St Emillion des Charente, but the Colombard, Folle Blanche, Jurançon, Blanc Ramé, Bouilleaux, Belzac Blanc and Chalosse grapes are also permitted.  More than 95% of all cognacs are made from the Ugni Blanc which was originally an Italian variety called Trebbiano Toscano, from the foothills of the Emilia Romagna near Piacenza.  It is regarded by many as being so widely used that it probably produces more wine… Read more

Having spent a very cold weekend in the garden pruning trees, shrubs and roses, I gave some thought to those people who have to be in the cognac vineyards at this time of the year pruning the vines. In theory, there is no reason why the vines cannot be pruned as soon as the leaves have died back but at that time of the year, distillation is in full swing so lack of time prevents it.  Most of the distillations have been completed by the New Year and it is then that the work outside begins in order that new… Read more

As the New Year rolls in the cognac distillers will be checking the ‘chais’ (cellars) and their existing stocks of cognac in barrels from previous years.  Of course there are hundreds of old cellars all over the Cognac region, each containing large quantities of barrels in a range of sizes, the most common being 350 litres.  Each barrel will have its own characteristics and will impart slightly different qualities into the cognac. This ageing process begins annually after distillation, which must be completed by 31 March.  To provide an initial boost the newly distilled spirit is put into new oak… Read more

The other day, I was talking to a barman in a hotel and he, like so many other people, wanted to know “what is the difference between brandy and cognac?” Certainly in the trade we all assume that we know the answer to this, so was our barman an exception? I don’t think so. Brandy is a spirit distilled from a fruit, it can be any fruit, any strength and aged for six days or 60 years, there really are very few rules. Cognac on the other hand is rather more complex and allows experts to differentiate between different crus,… Read more

White Cognac from Coal The pressure on cognac houses in the early noughties to sell greater quantities inspired some to try and produce a white or clear cognac. Of course this should not be possible as cognac must be aged in oak and the wood always imparts some colour and most of all flavour. Consequently, when Hennessy introduced a ‘white’ cognac it still had some colour. So, one of the oldest cognac houses, Godet, produced a plan to solve this problem by filtering their cognac through coal. The plan worked and they launched Antarctica as a ‘white’ cognac.  However, Cognac… Read more

Longer days and lazy evenings are what we are all looking forward to now that British Summer Time has begun. This time of year also marks the end of the cognac distillation process for last summer’s harvest – strict regulations dictate that it must be completed by 31 March – and so, the ageing process for the 2014 vintage has already begun. The longer it is left in oak barrels the finer it will be, which is why our very old vintages are particularly special. Hermitage Reaux 1954 was distilled 60 years ago and just oozes rich, dark chocolatey flavours… Read more

The prosperity from the trade with Britain in the late 1800s was sadly doomed as production rose even faster than consumption. Thousands of acres were planted with vines to supply the anticipated surge in sales.  This threatened overproduction was however, overtaken by an even worse disaster. In the early 1870s the infamous louse, Phylloxera Vastatrix, arrived in the Charente and by the end of the decade it had spread to the whole of the region. The plague ended the 100 years of independence by the growers and their stocks grew even more valuable as the devastation spread. The growers tried… Read more

Appropriately, at Christmas we often visualise the elderly gentleman lowering his nose into a large balloon glass containing a brown liquid, presumably cognac. While endowing brandy with a certain social status, the image is misleading. Cognacs, especially those which we understand to be of a high enough quality, are to be savoured. Even the most experienced brandy tasters find it difficult to taste quantities of the spirit, since it burns the mouth and only small quantities of different cognacs can be tasted at any one time. Even so, copious quantities of water are necessary to cleanse the mouth. That said,… Read more

During the late 19th century it became an aristocratic tradition to supply cognacs that had aged in damp cellars for many years, rather like those from Delamain and Hine, companies that had produced some fine old cognacs. However, during the last century the Chinese had started to develop a liking for dark sweet cognacs and the big houses quickly developed the knack of adding generous proportions of sugar syrup and caramel to satisfy their needs. This in effect enabled the use of younger cognacs to be blended, thus avoiding costly ageing for many years in barrels. Eventually this was replaced… Read more

Storing cognacs may sound a rather easy process of placing old barrels on their sides in cellars  (Chais), in neat rows and often about three high, for as long as it takes to mature. This rather simplistic view is indeed the essence of the process, but there are many more complex limitations to consider. It is perhaps fortunate that over the centuries the Cognacais have developed cognacs to suit the area. Typically, those from the Champagnes are slow to develop, but the damp conditions created by the Charente river keep the oak barrels damp, blocking the spirit from dissipating into… Read more