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Eau de vie (water of life) and eaux de vie (plural)

Posted in Brandy Education, Learning about Brandy and tagged

This is probably the most used term in the cognac industry since it covers the transformation of the wine to a brandy. Cognacs are double distilled, the first distillation will transform the wine to a cloudy liquid with a strength around 27-30 %abv and known as brouillis The second distillation transform the brouillis into a water clear and very strong (67-72 %abv) spirit we call eau de vie which is then aged in oak casks for many years.  The eau de vie gradually mellows and changes colour as a result of the chemical (tannins, lignins and hemi-cellulose) contact with the wood. This transformation of eau de vie into good cognac is very slow and can take many decades although most is diluted and sold young, using sugar syrups and caramel to hide the fiery nature of the spirit.

You can also buy ‘eaux de vie’ where various fruits have been added to the wines before distillation.  The resulting mixture can be sold as a clear fruit flavoured spirit such as Reserve Eau de Vie de Cerises – Kirsch . Most of these eaux de vie are produced in the Alsace region of France. They are not aged in oak like cognac since this would give them a colour.  In some cases they have macerated fruits added which produces a liqueur such as Doulce France – Liqueur de Framboise.  The fruit provides a much lower alcoholic strength and a distinctive and usually quite powerful flavour.

Numbers on Bottles (Age Statements) -The value in the bottle

Posted / in Brandy Education, Learning about Brandy, News and tagged

Throughout drinking history the age of a bottle’s content has always been contentious, in particular for wines and spirits where age can represent a substantial part of the bottle value. Defining the age of a cognac has, for the vast majority of companies, become all but impossible as they have to buy and blend as many as 3000 different cognacs to meet their sales requirements. To clarify the situation, a set of rules was created by the governing body of cognac, the Bureau National Interprofessionel de Cognac (BNIC). They require cognacs to be aged in oak casks for a specific period of time in order to fall into one of three categories. The youngest is the VS where cognacs must have been aged for more than two years before bottling. The second category is called VSOP where cognacs need to be more than 4 years old and the third category is Napoleon and XO, both of which must be more than 6 years old.

But cognac ages very slowly, especially when stored in the ideal conditions for the spirit, and it is this ageing process that gives it both colour and taste.  Perhaps even more significant is that depending on the region or cru where it is aged, some cognacs can take three or four times longer to acquire an acceptable quality. Cognacs from the Champagnes (Grande and Petit Champagne) may take as long as 50 to 80 years to reach the desired level of maturity and quality.  They have to be distilled at 70 degrees in the final distillation so the subsequent reduction in strength can be very slow and the flavour take time to develop. Additives are widely used by the big houses to improve the colour and to reduce the fiery nature of young spirits.

At Brandyclassics our policy is to only buy cognacs where we know the age and where, particularly with young cognacs, the flavour is not impaired by their youthful aging. We refer to ages, for example a 10 year old where the cognac has been aged in an oak cask for 10 years, and vintages, for example 1975 where the cognac was made in that year and can be any number of years old up to the bottling date. Once the cognac has been bottled, or in the case of some very old ones stored in bonbonnes for later bottling, the quality and taste of each cognac will not change, unless the cork is left out for a considerable period.

Of course, the value of the bottle of cognac with an age statement depends on a number of factors. Firstly, where the cognac comes from, if it is from the top cru, Grande Champagne then it will usually be of greater value than one from a lower cru, say Fins Bois or Bon Bois. Secondly, if the cognac is very old, it will have aged in cellars for a long time and that is expensive. Lastly, many vintage cognacs are in very short supply, particularly those that were made in the early 19th century.   For example where the cognac is very rare and has a story attached to it such as the Massougnes 1801 and 1805, the value can easily be between £10,000 and £150,000.  However, it is worth noting that with some younger cognacs the age of the cognac may be well short of the period between the date and the vintage on the bottle. So when buying old cognacs always try and establish the actual barrel age.  Hermitage Cognacs will always have a bottling date on the back label so that you can be sure how old the cognac is.

Hine Early Landed & Jarnac 1983 Cognac

Posted in Brandy Bottle Reviews, The Bottle Story and tagged

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 can buy a Beaulon 1983 (cellar aged), for a little over £100.  Probably the low availability of vintage cognac contributes to the very high cost!

The Cognac Process – Part 5. Tradition and Quality

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The tradition of quality was slow to develop but was largely in keeping with the local temperament. During the 17th century the Champagnes, known today as the best growing areas, improved steadily and just as the region had produced the best grain, so too they produced the best grapes. By the time of the French Revolution the last areas devoted to growing grapes (the Borderies, an area of land just north of Cognac) had succumbed. Their sweet wines were much prized but a terrible frost in 1766 enabled their rivals in Sauternes, south of Bordeaux, to replace their offerings.

Even before the French Revolution the Cognaçais were not unduly hampered by feudal restrictions. After the death of King Francis 1 the Cognaçais were affected by religious wars. Jarnac, a few miles upstream, was a centre for Protestants, the scene of a crucial battle and later of Protestant redoubt which provided a natural link with the Huguenot mafia, so important for European trade. Even in the 18th century when the Protestants were not officially tolerated, the Cognaçais refused to help the authorities search them out. The region had become prosperous and socially homogeneous.

New stock – Old Spanish Brandies

Posted in Brandy Bottle Reviews, The Bottle Story and tagged

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 a barrel age of about 50 years.  These wonderful old brandies are not to be confused with later, much more unremarkable brandies bottled after 1983, although much of the packaging is similar.

Cognac Frapin acquires more Vineyards

Posted in Famous Cognac Houses, News from the Brandy Houses and tagged

Perhaps one of the last Grandees of the cognac industry, Frapin, is expanding its vineyards to keep up with the demand in China. Frapin, best known for its famous Chateau Fontpinot which is set in some of the best area of Grande Champagne, has increased its vineyards by 11% taking the total area to 240 hectares and sufficient to provide more than 2500 hectolitres of eau de vie.  Probably their best cognacs originate from their cellars in Segonzac where they hold many vintages but are best known for the wonderful cognac named after their famous chateau.  It is their prized possession, retained after the family feuds in the 1970s when they severed their connection with Remy Martin and ceased to supply them with their cognacs.

Remy Martin Louis XIII Rare Cask

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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 doubtful that such a blend will benefit from being a higher strength. Only the cask the cognac is stored in is a hundred years old so it would be interesting to find out just how old the cognac is!

Hine Cognac Up for Sale

Posted in Famous Cognac Houses, News from the Brandy Houses and tagged

Yet another big cognac house is up for sale.  Hine Cognac, which was founded in Jarnac in 1763, celebrates its 250th Anniversary this year.  The name Hine originates from an Englishman who married into the family in the early 19th century and the House has remained in the hands of Hine descendants ever since.  Abiding by the founder’s motto ‘less is more’ they have continued to produce relatively small quantities of very high quality cognac.  The current owner, CL World Brands, has recently relinquished its stake in Jamaican Appleton Rum and the whisky producers Burn Stewart Distillers fuelling rumours that their parent company, CL Financial, are in financial turmoil.  Although there is no news yet of whom the buyer may be, it is a real shame that they are being forced to sell Hine under these circumstances.  So many of the smaller cognac houses have been snapped up by the ‘big four’ resulting in quality, single estate stock being lost to the blending process which is used to meet the ever growing demand from Asia.

Hermitage 25 Year old Arrives

Posted / in Brandy Bottle Reviews, The Bottle Story and tagged

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 dried nuts, qualities characteristic of Grande Champagne as well as guava, passion fruit, kumquats and light spices.  The cognac is currently supplied in the much admired ‘Exception’ bottle.

The Cognac Process – Part 4. The Royal Connections

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By around the end of the 17th century the trade in burnt or reduced wine had become safe in that other European clients from England, Ireland and increased trade from Holland and a little from Scandinavia had created a more profitable trade than grain and the bois (wooded) areas away from the Champagnes were cleared for vine production. In the 13th century, King John, ruler of England and Western France, appointed the town of Cognac its freedom. Three centuries later Cognacs freedom had been reinforced by its most distinguished native, King Francis I, the very model of a Renaissance monarch born in Cognac in 1491 and ruled from 1515 to 1547. Another royal visitor was Louis XIV whose mistress was the Marquise de Montespan who lived in the Charente. But royalty gave way to dictator when Napoleon came to live on the island of Aix. It was probably during the Napoleonic era that Martell and Hennessy started to gain their supremacy over other firms, something that they have never subsequently lost. Legend has it that Napoleon insisted that his personal barrels of cognac remain undisturbed while he was away on his military campaign across Europe. When he returned to claim his cognac six and a half years later, he found he enjoyed the aged cognac even more than he had enjoyed the young cognac. Today, Napoleon cognac is aged for a minimum of six and a half years but more typically for between 8 and 20 years.