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Martell XO Exclusive Architect Edition

Posted / in Brandy Bottle Reviews and tagged

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 over 15,000 hl of pure spirit, some dating back to 1800.

But what then is the customer getting? Without being too cynical about Martell’s new cognac, the real answer is that there really is nothing new between this and hundreds of other XO cognacs. They are still multi blends of cognacs of various ages which professsionally an expert might be able to detect the difference, but which everybody else who buys this cognac will only recognise by the different presentation at an inflated price. Perhaps this is the reason why the flavour is not described any more!

Brandyclassics have extensive tasting notes on all of the brandies, cognacs and armagnacs we sell, whether they are from our exclusive Hermitage Cognac range or one of the many other small exclusive producers we support.

Alarming increase in exports of young Cognacs

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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 and the slow addition of water becomes a necessity. But at the moment the big four are buying cognacs at 2-3 years old and the quantity of young cognacs they are buying is increasing rapidly as is the prices we are having to pay for them.

The truth is that the increase in sales, mainly to China, means that the quality of these cognacs gets poorer every year and the levels of additives are increasing.

More than 70% of Chinese Brandies are Fake Products

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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 is small compared to the local firewater called Baijiu. Sales stand at 900 million cases and the average person drinks 11.6 litres of spirits a year!

The Chinese are keen to associate luxury drinks, particularly cognac with success and successful young professionals often build bars in their houses and stock them with luxury cognacs. Indeed the Chinese perception of luxury is more to do with the shape of the bottle rather than its contents. It is this very point that is the nub of the problem in China, where cheap brandies can be put into attractive bottles and sold at high prices.

Unfortunately the cognac industry is largely to blame with their use of generic titles such VSOP and XO.  This has created a valueless perception of what we are now selling, merely a strong coloured spirit in a fancy bottle. How much better would it be if we educated our customers to taste the difference between new and old and good and bad? This way they can recognize value and slow the fake markets.

All Hermitage Cognacs come with age statements and guaranteed provenance. Should a discerning Cognac buyer wish to sample a genuine luxury cognac, below are just a few examples from the exceptinoal Hermitage range.

New Remy Martin and Bacardi Cognacs launched for 2012

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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 cut diamond shaped bottle; it is said to be one down from their Louis XIII. It is a blend of 300-400 best cognacs. Pity about the cognacs – but the bottles are nice!

Could we suggest that rather than trying these bland, mass-produced Cognacs, delight your tastebuds with one of the many exceptional single-product Cognacs that we stock? Out Hermitage 10 year old is always popular…

Dry summer leads to poor harvest in Charente

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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 what we all needed,. But you can have too much sun and the current predictions on the grape yield is likely to be between 15 – 25% down on last year. This news is not what we want to hear especially, with the demand for young eau de vie being so high. We will keep our fingers crossed!

The Charente region produces some exceptionally fine Pineau’s, which are a real treat if you’ve never tried it before. Some of our very old rare vintage Cognacs also originate in this region. So whether your budget is under £20 or over £10,000, we hope you’ll enjoy drinking the fruits of previous years’ more abundant grape harvest.

Menuet Cognacs sold to a Chinese Buyer

Posted in News from the Brandy Houses and tagged

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 that there was some family concern at the sale since the firm was established in 1850.

Brandyclassics opening Company in Cognac

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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 of the company in France will enable us to handle the taxation and duty more easily, thus avoiding shipping through UK bonding facilities, saving both cost and time. It will enable us to load larger shipments and send them direct to their destinations – this will be particularly attractive to the Far East markets. Initially the facility will be just offices and stores for holding the cognacs, but this gives us the opportunity to develop and install much larger tanks for holding cognacs. When shipping larger orders to the Far East, the need for holding thousands of litres of cognac becomes critical. We measure and buy cognac by the hectoliter of pure spirit, that is to say 100 litres at 100% alc. Of course it is never at that strength, but for taxation purposes it is essential we know how much alcohol we are moving at any one time. One hundred litres of pure spirit is the equivalent of 357 70cl bottles of cognac at 40% alc. So, if as hoped we are able to ship full containers – which are the equivalent of 900 cases of 12 bottles – we will require more than 2800 litres of pure spirit or 7000 litres at 40% – a not insignificant quantity!

 

Hennessy Cognac – an Old Firm with a Young Problem

Posted in Brandy Education and tagged

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 the big negoçiants including Remy Martin, Martell and Courvoisier. There simply isn’t enough cognac being produced to supply the markets, especially those in China where growth is escalating at 20% or more a year. Demand for luxury cognacs is such that the Chinese are taking every opportunity to supply fake products in the market.

The biggest problem that we all have with high quality cognacs is the ageing process. Those that come from the top cru’s such as Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne can take up to 70 or 80 years to develop to their fullest in the barrel and that costs a lot of money and patience!

Cognac regulations say that VSOP cognacs must age for a minimum of 3 ½ years in their barrels whilst XO must be at least 6 ½ years old. At one time in the 1960’s and 70’s Hennessy XO was age in the barrel  for around 25 years old and although additives were used, they were only used in small quantities. Today, Hennessy XO is estimated at being less than ten years old and falling annually – one wonders how long it will be before it reaches the legal minimum?

There are around 5000 cognac producers and some of the smaller family firms that have been making it for generations keep their aged cognacs, only selling them either under their own names or to smaller negoçiants who sell high quality single estate cognacs.

Hermitage Cognacs Limited are unique, offering naturally aged cognacs with age statements to customers who seek great quality and individual choices in age, strength and flavour. Hermitage cognacs offer cognacs from only the very finest distillers in the top cognac crus. That is why Hermitage Cognacs win many medals for what is regarded by many as the finest cognacs in the world.

The Cognac Process Part 3. The Dutch Influence

Posted / in The Cognac Process and tagged

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 at the French ports. The locals who were quick to catch on started to burn or distil the wines themselves, enabling the reduced wines to arrive at the ports in better condition.

The wines generally came from the bois slopes, where the woods had been replaced by vines (as they were not as suitable for growing grain) as well as the area to the south of Cognac known as the Champagnes, where grapes were already being grown. By this time, what was a necessity for the Dutch had become a fashionable luxury in London!

The Cognac Process Part 2.2 A Small Town

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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 gabares, the special barges used for 700 years until well into the 20th century. In the port of La Rochelle they were sold to representatives of foreign buyers.

It was not until the middle of the 19th century that the merchants grew rich enough to hold one or two years of cognac stock. Until then they remained effectively brokers. The growers matured the cognacs and shipped them in casks, the eventual buyers financing the purchase which they sold under their own name.