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Did You Know? The Cognac Grapes

Posted in Brandy Education and tagged

Legally the Cognaçais may use a number of grape varieties, although the choice is largely theoretical. The Ugni Blanc or to give it it’s proper name, the St Emillion des Charentes, accounts for about 95% of the total area. The rest is almost totally Colombard and Folle Blanch. This concentration is largely attributable to phylloxera. Cognacs rise to fame was based on two varieties, the Balzac and the Folle (later known as the Folle Blanche) both much despised by locals only interested in fine wines. In the eighteenth century the Colombard which made the delicious sweet wine from the Borderies also rose to fame, it ripens quickly to a sort of butterscotch warmth and when mixed with Ugni Blanc can provide delicious peachy flavours but will usually finish quite short on the palate.

Folle Blanche was the raw material for the brandies which were the glory of cognacs pre-phylloxera heyday. The wine it produced was so acid as to be virtually undrinkable although this was ideal for producing fine, aromatic cognac with a great depth of flavour. When grafted onto American rootstock it flourishes too vigorously and the grapes in the middle were liable to grey rot that could not be reached by anti rot sprays. 

The Brandy Bottle – Hermitage 1900 Grande Champagne

Posted / in Brandy Bottle Reviews and tagged

Finding a good 1900 these days is becoming a real trial and we have tasted many that are way off the mark in both style and balance. So we were over the moon when we found one we liked from a cellar in Bouteville between Segonzac and Chateauneuf in Grande Champagne.

Moreover we have discovered that there is more than two hundred litres available to us. The cognac has been kept in cellars and in Limousin cask for more than 50 years and has matured slowly providing a relatively complex cognac and stylish cognac. It was made on 25 hltr stills and judged good enough to take out of wood around the mid 1950’s. The cognac has a powerful attack of dry and fruity flavours with a complexity of spices and green walnuts. It is sold at 47.5% alc so it is quite strong but the flavour is good and lasting. It’s a winner! Our Score 9/10

 

 

 

A Few Good Armagnac Houses – No 1 Castarède

Posted / in Famous Armagnac Houses and tagged

The firm  Castarède is naturally proud of being the oldest business in Armagnac. They were founded in 1832 by Jules Nismes at the suggestion of a young subprefect, who later became famous as the Baron Haussmann who replanned Paris for the Emperor Napoleon III. The firm was sited at the furthest point  to which the River Baise is navigable and provides direct access to Bordeaux down the River Garonne.

The firm is still owned by the Castarède family, who are also proprietors of the picturesque Château de Maniban at Mauléon d’Armagnac. The Maniban family were members of the legal aristocracy, the noblesse de la robe, who played such an important role in developing Bordeaux’s fine wine estates. They were the first to introduce armagnac to the court of Louis XV and have been associated in the past with many names of the rich and famous.

The firm is not a distiller, it buys its armagnacs exclusively from the Bas Armagnac, most of which were distilled between 1900 and 2000. They keep them in wood until they have reduced naturally to 40%, before transferring them to glass bonbonnes without additives.

Their cellars are at Pont-de-Bordes, Lavardac balancing on the side of a high ridge over the river and create a picturesque view. Florence Castarède is the charming and current family owner of the firm and she has created a range of vintages which is the mainstay of the business today. Most of her armagnacs have been distilled mid range and have flavours of crystallised fruit.

Finding New Hermitage Cognacs

Posted / in News and tagged

Bouteville. Home of Hermitage 1900 Grande Champagne

As most of our customers are aware, Hermitage Cognacs come with age statements and it can be difficult sometimes to find enough to supply the market needs. Clearly younger cognacs are easier to find than older ones, but the need for quality means that we have to reject many vintages where we feel that they will neither fit into our range or are not of a quality suitable for the Hermitage name. There is a big demand for vintages – far more than generically labelled blends – since customers are fast becoming disillusioned with the highly modified big brands.

At Brandyclassics we work hard to find cognacs that we know our customers want and we have recently added a number of new cognacs to our range. Amongst the new finds are a beautifully light and clean 1988 Grande Champagne and a superb 1900 at 47.5% from Grande Champagne. These cognacs are masterpieces and deserve to be enjoyed.

 

 

Many new “Passing off”, Cases for the Cognac Industry

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Different interpretations of the name Cognac in European countries have lead to a host of challenges for the BNIC lawyers in Cognac. Spirits can only be called cognac if they are made in The Charente region of France and comply with a list of other conditions designed to protect both its quality and heritage.

During the last few years variants of the name have cropped up. The Russian word “Conyack” means in Russia the same for brandy and Cognac, whilst in Finland there is a case concerning the use of the word Konjakki to describe the brandy sold by Oy Gust Ranin. In Hungary too, the word Konyak has been used and this has occurred in many other eastern European countries to describe their brandy. Perhaps the most unusual is the use of the word cognac to describe a range of clothes in Turkey.

For the time being however, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery…

Did You Know? Massougnes

Posted / in Brandy Education and tagged

The house of Massougnes is no more, but in its day was the biggest supplier of cognac in the Charente. The house was famous as well, as it has always been owned by the French Noblesse.

Brandyclassics have recently  acquired the last bottle of cognac from the estate, a 1810 Massougnes Cognac of  c 90cl, which is available for sale on our website.

The family was and still is today directly related to King Louis VII and Eleanor of Aquitaine and their children, King Richard and John of England. Today, the last remaining descendant of the French true royal blood still lives on the estate near Aigre.

Marie-Antoinette Pintaurd des Allees, Comtesse de La Bourdeliere, although now frail, lives at what remains of the Chateau and estate in a village called Bonnerville to the west of Aigre. In around 1850 the estate comprised of more than 360 hectares and had forty workers who were all actually employed and provided with their own houses to live in. No other cognac producer was known to be so generous with its staff.

Bills of Sale seen at the Chateau have proved its existence since before 1730. Later they sold the cognacs to such famous names as Augier, Hennessy and Martell but it is know that the estate was started around 1605. Unfortunately all was lost during the plague of Phylloxera in 1872 and the remains have fallen into ruin.

 

 

The Brandy Bottle – Monteru Eau de Vie No1

Posted in Brandy Bottle Reviews and tagged

During our travels in Cognac we often come across and taste new products, this time it’s with a difference. Monteru ‘Eau de Vie No 1 Original’ is double distilled in the traditional manner, but from specific grape varietal wines. Intended to be complementary to cognac rather than to compete, there are a number of grape varieties to choose from. We’ve sampled the Merlot and Chardonnay.

Light in colour and with a pleasant aroma that reflected the individual grape of the base wine, we were intrigued to see what flavours would be within. However, as sometimes happens, the anticipation was better than the event itself and they turned out to be rather disappointing. Their texture is a little thin and the flavour is all at the front of the palate. We prefer fruit based eau de vie and traditional cognac to this new enterprise. Our Score 2/10

 

 

The Brandy Bottle – Hermitage 1914 Borderies

Posted in Brandy Bottle Reviews and tagged

It is perhaps something of a rare treat to find a Borderies cognac, let alone a decent Borderies cognac. Most of the nutty and rich toffee eaux de vie are snapped up by Martell and Hennessy, who have always tried to get all there is from this tiny cru.

Some of the cognacs produced here are legendary with their dark toffee and nutty flavours. The soil here has a more clay type structure with a shale layer, but the climate is probably more temperate than the Champagnes.

The Hermitage 1914 Borderies Cognac has aged in oak for more than 70 years and is now in bonbonnes safely stored in our cellars. The cognac has been reduced by about 1.5% and now has a strength of 44.3% and will be bottled at that. It is a little spicy, has a rancio and long powerful tones. We love this rare cognac. Our score 8/10

 

Did You Know? The First Pineau

Posted in Learning about Brandy and tagged

The Summer months are the best time of the year to consider the cool and refreshing Pineau des Charentes – a drink that has found favour with all those who taste the magical richness.

There is no official record of how the drink first came about but the common belief is that it was first made in the sixteenth century. Legend has it that Pineau was created when a winemaker accidently dropped some grapes into a barrel which contained some brandy. The resulting taste after it had aged was found to be so good that it became a regular practice and a new drink was formed.

The most common type of Pineau is white and made from the indigenous grape varieties such as ugni blanc, folle blanche, sauvignon and chardonnay. The Charente also grows cabernet sauvignon and merlot, found in many of the great clarets from nearby Bordeaux. The rules are that the eau de vie and grape juice (or “must”) have to come from the same producer and the resulting mixture is aged in their cellars. Most of the Pineau is aged from anything between three and ten years, but some have been kept in their oak casks for more than twenty years. There are even a few vintage Pineau’s available now, the finest of them being the 1995 from Beaulon which was aged in casks from Chateau d’Yquem.

 

 

Harvesting in the Armagnac region – The Perfect Perfume of Cognac

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The House of Frapin, world famous for their cognacs, also produce a small range of perfumes and colognes.  Since the launch in 2002, their most popular product is 1270 – so named after the year when they commenced their wine and cognac production.

But the family of Frapin are no strangers to this world; indeed, back in the 16th Century one of the descendants of the original Frapin family, Pierre Frapin was Apothecary to the king.  But today, with their niche range of perfumes and cognacs, the House of Frapin produces a quality range which has proved very popular amongst both cognac aficionados and perfume lovers. Jean Pierre Cointreau of the House of Frapin says ‘Perfume is comparable to cognac in that it all comes down to the soil and how you work on it.  It also has a lot to do with the senses; with flavours and with smell.’

For the most complex perfume, we suggest Hermitage!