It is always difficult to try and understand how the big cognac houses perceive their customers loyalty to their products. Clearly brand loyalty is a powerful tool, but one has to ask how many XO products it is possible to launch on the market before questions get asked about what they are really buying. The new Christian de Portzamparc exclusive XO will only be available in the Far East. It is said to be a blend of some of their older cognacs and almost certainly contains some from the Merinvil cellars they aquired a few years ago, where there were… Read more

Sales of cognacs, fuelled mainly by the massive demand for brandy products leapt 20% in the first six months of 2012. This represents an increase of approximately €200 million over last year. We have to ask, can we maintain this sort of growth when we are currently producing and selling cognacs that don’t have enough time to age sufficiently for their flavour to develop properly? Cognacs from the top cru, Grande Champagne are the slowest to age and most producers prefer not to bottle them until they are at least ten years old. Naturally, we have to sell younger cognacs… Read more

The Hong Kong Vinexpo Exhibition took place last month and both Hennessy and Martell were notable absentees. The sale of brandies in China has reached such large proportions that the big houses are now unable to meet the demand of Chinese markets. Admittedly, much of the talk is speculation, but clients are openly asking for supplies of fifty containers to supply their customers. Shipments of cognac are increasing massively as the Chinese middle class growth is expected to increase by 50% by 2015. Sales of imported spirits into China, which includes some whisky, currently stand at 4 million cases. But this… Read more

It seems that there is always somebody who sees potential in a new cognac and sure there are a lot of cognac distillers out there and many negoçiants. Take for example D’Ussé Cognac by Bacardi. It is a VSOP Cognac in an unusual bottle and is described “an interesting mix of medieval bourgeois and somehow a bit rough”! Then there is a range from Deau, again in smart bottles, there is Deau XO, Deau Black and the top of the range Deau Louis Memory, all are blended and quite expensive. Remy Martin have introduced their Centaure de Diamant in a sort of… Read more

The weather has again dominated the news in the Charente, The long dry summer spell has meant the grapes have failed to fill adequately for a really good harvest. This is a particularly rare occurrence as it coincided with lots of rain after the flowers had set and the grapes started to form, which led to difficulties with disease from mildew and rot. This meant that the vines had to be sprayed regularly to prevent disease spreading, but then came the sun! The summer just got hotter and drier and the long period of hot sunshine that followed was initially… Read more

Many years ago Brandyclassics bought cognacs from Menuet Cognacs; they were great cognacs and the cellar contained some very special stock from 1947 and some superb 50 y.o. Unfortunately the company got into a lot of trouble and the firms owner sold most of his stock and bought cheaper cognacs from a well known and very good negoçiant whom Brandyclassics brought together, so that they were able to carry on with the name, supplying markets particularly in Russia. This month we have heard that the name Menuet has been sold to a Chinese buyer, the first Chinese venture into cognac. We understand… Read more

Move to develop easier International shipments Over the years we have gradually expanded our stores and offices but with the potentially massive markets in China and the Far East developing,  we have decided to ship to these markets direct from where the cognacs are made. Sales of cognacs to China have grown massively in the last few years and we have had many enquiries for our Hermitage cognac range. Our facility in France will be associated alongside one of our key distributors near Segonzac in the very heart of Grande Champagne which is the top cru of Cognac. The opening… Read more

Hennessy VSOP and Hennessy XO are perhaps the best known cognacs in the world, but over the years the standards of these cognacs has not just slipped but plunged to depths unimaginable in the haze of cognac gloom. The barrel age of these onetime legendary cognacs is falling annually as the demand for them increases. Probably the biggest problem is that as the age of the cognac in the bottle reduces, the level of additives required to compensate for their fiery nature and light colour increases. Hennessy’s problem is by no means unique. Indeed it is the problem with all… Read more

Around the middle of the 16th century the Cognaçais had been liberated from the English and lost some of their most important markets. But they were well placed to satisfy the new demand from the Dutch, who were seeking concentrated wines to render palatable the generally putrid drinking water in their ships. At first they imported the wine from the Saintonge to “burn” in imported copper stills from Sweden. The Dutch authorities disliked using precious grain, the alternative raw material for spirits, because it was an important staple food. The need for the brandywijn increased and the Dutch started distilling… Read more

Originally the town Cognac was important as a crossing over the river. In the Middle Ages it became a notable trading centre for salt, the regions first stable export, and then for wine. These provided Cognac with an incomparable network of contacts in Northern Europe, since both depended on markets principally in Britain but also in the Low Countries and Scandinavia. Local brokers throughout the Saintonge – the region from Angoulême to the sea – would buy the salt or wine on behalf of foreign buyers. The casks were shipped down the Charente to Tonnay-Charente, the tidal limit downstream on… Read more