Geographically, Armagnac appears for the first time in the middle of the tenth century. By the fifteenth century, the English kings had come and gone for the past 450 years Armagnac (indeed the whole of Gascony) has been a happy country without much history. In the 14th and 15th centuries, Bayonne, the nearest port had the unusual freedom to trade in wine. This was important as the only ways to get produce from the region was by the rivers, since no roads existed to ship their wines to the ports. In many ways the easiest outlet was the long haul… Read more

Armagnac, as the locals invariably inform even the most casual visitor, is at once the oldest and youngest spirit in France. Oldest because it was first distilled in the middle of the 15th century and youngest because the Armagnaçaise are still arguing over how it should be made. President de Gaulle talked about the problems of governing a country which made 300 different cheeses. Armagnac has as many ways of making brandy. The region of Armagnac has always been a very special example of that elusive concept, la France profounde, even now well away from the madding crowds – and… Read more

Appropriately, at Christmas we often visualise the elderly gentleman lowering his nose into a large balloon glass containing a brown liquid, presumably cognac. While endowing brandy with a certain social status, the image is misleading. Cognacs, especially those which we understand to be of a high enough quality, are to be savoured. Even the most experienced brandy tasters find it difficult to taste quantities of the spirit, since it burns the mouth and only small quantities of different cognacs can be tasted at any one time. Even so, copious quantities of water are necessary to cleanse the mouth. That said,… Read more

During the late 19th century it became an aristocratic tradition to supply cognacs that had aged in damp cellars for many years, rather like those from Delamain and Hine, companies that had produced some fine old cognacs. However, during the last century the Chinese had started to develop a liking for dark sweet cognacs and the big houses quickly developed the knack of adding generous proportions of sugar syrup and caramel to satisfy their needs. This in effect enabled the use of younger cognacs to be blended, thus avoiding costly ageing for many years in barrels. Eventually this was replaced… Read more

Storing cognacs may sound a rather easy process of placing old barrels on their sides in cellars  (Chais), in neat rows and often about three high, for as long as it takes to mature. This rather simplistic view is indeed the essence of the process, but there are many more complex limitations to consider. It is perhaps fortunate that over the centuries the Cognacais have developed cognacs to suit the area. Typically, those from the Champagnes are slow to develop, but the damp conditions created by the Charente river keep the oak barrels damp, blocking the spirit from dissipating into… Read more

Cognac must be distilled between the range of 67–72 degrees and many producers will try and get it to the higher end of the range to maximise on the purity of the distillate. Whatever the strength of the vapours, the temperature is quite likely to be very hot and the vapour will rise quickly from the boiler to the chapiteau, the onion shaped pot on top of the boiler. The smaller the chapiteau, the more efficiently the wine vapours are carried on up to the col de cygnet (swans neck). The shorter the col de cygnet, the less spirit will… Read more

The vast majority of distillers in the cognac region are bouilleurs de cru, distillers who grow their own grapes, rather than the bouilleurs de profession, distillers whose sole purpose is to distil the wines for growers and merchants. There are probably nearly a thousand of the former group who sell their brandies under their own name, and it is these whose reputations have developed over the centuries from their family skills.  Of course many of these bouillers de cru also sell their cognacs to a blender, who may keep the cognacs for a few years in casks before selling them… Read more

To visit the Charente in October is one of the most exciting periods of the whole of the Cognac season. There is a huge sense of anticipation – vats and stills are being cleaned, machinery is being serviced and viticulturists are checking the acidity and sugar levels in the grapes. They are also making final checks on the quality and cleanliness of the grapes, ensuring that no mildew or rot exists in the clusters of Ugni Blanc, Colombard or Folle Blanche before they are picked. On the chosen day, usually at the end of October, and depending on acidity and… Read more

Legally the Cognaçais can use a number of grape varieties, although the choice is largely theoretical. The Ugni Blanc accounts for over 90% of the total area, with the rest being Folle Blanche and Colombard. Cognacs rise to fame was based on two varieties – the Folle (later known as the Folle Blanche), and the Balzac, both of which were despised by local wine makers. In the 18th Century the Colombard, which made sweet wines from the Borderies cru, also rose to prominence. Today the Colombard’s inclusion in modern cognacs is limited, as it finishes very short and fails to… Read more

Finding a more suitable position to make cognac is impossible, since the combination of climate, soil and position creates that lovely French Term, “Terroir”, to which we have no singular description that encompasses such a wide term. The cognac region is in the northern end of the Langue d’Oc, midway between the Bay of Biscay and the Massif Central, a part of France which, when entering from the region just south of Poitier, it is said that the temperature rises 5 degrees. Winters are usually warmer than more northerly regions and the summer temperatures tend to be less aggressive, providing… Read more