Category: The Bottle Story

Hine Limited Edition 1983 cognac may well  be very good but there are serious doubts about it since the Early Landed version is kept in a cask in a UK cellar.  The Jarnac version, on the other hand, is allowed to mature naturally in permanently damp cellars next to the Charente River.  This tends to keep the barrels damp and the spirit in the barrel for far longer, providing a greater reaction between the spirit and the wood.  But whichever storage method is used, £285 or £360 is a lot of money to pay for a 1983 cognac when you… Read more

Our newly acquired Gran Duque d’Alba Spanish brandies have a fascinating history which explains their superior quality.  They were made by the Diez-Merito distillery and later sold to José-Maria Ruiz Mateos, having been kept untouched in casks for many years.  Unfortunately the company was eventually dissolved for failing to pay millions of dollars in taxes to the Spanish government, but not before these bottles had been sold to an Italian.  Both the Gran Reserva and the De Luxe Gran Reserva are therefore understood to be from around the turn of the 20th century, probably bottled in the 1960s giving them… Read more

The newly released Remy Martin Louis XIII Rare Cask is so named because it has an unusual strength of 42.6%.  This may be unusual for Remy Martin but many cognacs have an abv of over 40% as the distillation strength of cognac is between 67 – 72%.  Whilst some cognacs will benefit from a higher strength it is usually only those, such as the Hermitage 1975 or 1989, which are single estate and where a smaller still, which will provide less rectification, has been used.  The Rare Cask Louis XIII is a blend of 1200 different cognacs so it is highly… Read more

We are very proud of our new addition to the Hermitage range as single estate Grande Champagne cognacs have become a rarity and to find a naturally aged 25 year old is very special indeed.  Cognacs that have aged for this period of time in oak casks build a level of complexity which exhibits the distiller’s style and passion for his work.  This cognac is indeed very special since it comes from the very heart of the top cru and is made by one of the finest distillers in the industry.  The complex aromas and flavours include citrus peel and… Read more

Over one thousand individual bottles of cognac have been amassed into a unique and prestigious collection that will be sold at auction in June.  Of the 5000 individual cognac producers, several hundred have contributed to the collection and every bottle is unique.  Many of the cognacs are the latest top end presentations from the big houses, which are commercially available, but more than half of the collection are of VSOP/XO quality and over 200 are said to be exceptional.  Of the latter, many are believed to be quite old, in rare or unusual bottles and come from individual, single estates…. Read more

There are many times when we are asked to provide a cognac of a certain vintage or age. Whilst this may seem a relatively simple thing to do for a company that holds such a big and diverse range of cognacs, specific ages or vintages are always extremely difficult to find. So a few years ago we started looking to find a specific 60 year old cognac, that is to say, a cognac that has been aged in a barrel for a minimum of 60 years. Cognacs of this age are extremely valuable and tend to be kept hidden at… Read more

Courvoisier have just announced a new product, called C by Courvoisier. It’s a cognac and they even call it a revolutionary cognac. “C” is supposed to open a new way of consuming cognac – a new approach to the category. It’s produced in small batches, double barrel aged. OK up to here, do Courvoisier really believe we think it is single barrel aged? All cognac is double barrel aged, firstly in new barrels for 6-12 months, then in old barrels, hopefully for many years. But regrettably not for Courvoisier C, launched in the traditional black Josephine bottles. It is said… Read more

If your father was a cellar master, it would be fairly likely that you might grow up with some interest in the industry. In the case of Marianne Soupe, this particular line of work involved working with cognacs, so her ability to recognise different aromas and tastes has led her to be able to blend different cognacs into a range called Sylvelune which includes five different cognacs with names such as Cuvee Charme, Cuvee Sequoia, Lou and Charman Cognac. Each bottle is labelled by hand and presented in a wooden box with a certificate. Disappointingly, there are no ages to… Read more