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

Demand for cognac in China increased by another 15% last year with Singapore also seeing a 10% rise.   This continuing trend exerts even more pressure on a market which is already struggling to meet demand.   It is the Asian taste for superior, older (VSOP/XO) cognacs in particular, that is having such a tremendous effect on prices.  In 2012 the wholesale price of cognac rose by 14% and this year another 24% increase is expected.  Customers buying on the high street can therefore probably expect to pay around 15% more than they did last year. The growing demand is forcing big… Read more

In three years’ time the minimum age of XO cognac is set to change to 10 years in the cellar but this was agreed before the recent Asian cognac boom.  The Asian taste for luxury cognacs is already affecting supply of the older varieties so insisting that XO cognac must be aged another 4 years in barrels is unsustainable.  The poor availability of older cognacs means that the big four houses would be unable to supply sufficient quantity of the older XO cognacs required in the growing Asian market.  Their heavy influence on the ruling body is almost certainly going… Read more

Larsen, the Norwegian owned cognac House in Cognac has been bought by Remy Martin for an undisclosed sum. The firm was known for their Viking ship bottles and Norsemen ceramic decanters that were often seen in duty free shops at airports. Remy have agreed to keep the brand going as it will fuel their range of customers in the Scandinavian markets. Larsen were negoçiants and don’t make any cognacs themselves but buy them in, mainly from the Champagnes.  This may well be another reason why Remy were interested, as like the other big houses, they are desperate to get their… Read more

At a meeting in Cognac this week, we have received confirmation that some cognac distillers are being offered prices for cognac 22% above this year’s price. So far we understand that only Hennessy have made any offers, but it is certain that the other big houses, Martell, Remy Martin and Courvoisier will follow in order to protect their supplies for the market place. Last January we saw prices go up by an average of 14%. If this year’s increase becomes the norm it will be a record, but will affect the younger cognacs far more substantially than the older ones,… Read more

We have already had notification of some key cognac price increases and much as we have been saying all year, the wholesale cognac prices are currently set to rise by more than 14 % in 2013. Price rises will not be the same right across our range since some people are not so concerned with the wholesale prices or, as in the case of some of our suppliers, are linked in with ongoing contracts that will restrict the increases. Young cognac prices rising the most in 2013 The biggest increases will be in the younger and lower cost cognacs, where the… Read more

Hermitage Cognacs have introduced two new luxury cognacs under the name Siécle d’Or for their export customers. The Provenance 10 year old and Provenance 20 year old Siécle d’Or cognacs come from our new base in Segonzac, Grande Champagne – and both have already won gold medals at the 2012 Cognac Masters! These fine cognacs are designed for the Chinese markets and can be shipped in mixed container quantities. Plans for a Provenance 6 year old and a special presentation Provenance 25 in a special carafe and presentation box for key customers are already underway.

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

The Bottle is King, or so the big houses would have us believe. So much so that selling I year old grape brandy, bought for less than 1 euro a bottle,  set in some very fancy glassware and presentation boxes and then sold for HK$1000 (about £90). At least that is the price of one brandy offered by a big Chinese distributor. Is it surprising that the market is flooded by fake products? One Cognac negoçiant suggested that as much as 80% of the Chinese market is fake and if that is so, then there is a lot of room… Read more

The big exhibitions are always good places to see the latest innovations in the brandy world and the recent Vinexpo in Hong Kong has been to say the least, an interesting experience… One such new brandy comes from South Africa. We met the firm by accident one evening after the doors of the exhibition had closed and they explained to us how they made their brandies, which are effectively a by-product from their wines. We went back the next day and tasted their brandy and after the initial shock of sweetness discovered that apart from making wines and brandies they… Read more