Hermitage Cognacs Archives - Page 4 of 6

The Wine Merchant & The Cognac Hunter

Posted May 18, 2021 / May 18, 2021 in Brandy Bottle Reviews, News and tagged cognac, david baker, grande champagne, Hermitage Cognacs, wine merchant

The Wine Merchant is the first trade magazine aimed solely at independent wine retailers and has been around for nearly 10 years. This month it published a double page spread featuring the founder of Hermitage Cognac, David Baker, and some of Hermitage’s finest cognacs. Dubbed ‘The Cognac Hunter’, his story is summed up in the introduction:

David Baker uses his network of connections in the Grande Champagne region and beyond to seek out the kinds of long-aged, single estate cognacs that tell the story of this classic brandy in a far more evocative and compelling way than the big brands ever could. You can read the full article here on pages 52 & 53.

Also in the press this week, Will Lyons of The Sunday Times wrote about ‘Special Drinks for Special Birthdays’ and concluded that “David Baker at Brandyclassics has assembled an impressive array of old spirits to choose from”. The ‘Best bottles to give as gifts’ is something we know all about at Brandyclassics.

Recent Press Articles Featuring Hermitage Cognacs

Posted April 28, 2021 / April 28, 2021 in News, Uncategorized and tagged cognac, david baker, Hermitage Cognacs, vintage cognac

Lots to report from the press recently.

Will Lyons, writing for The Sunday Times, said “Hermitage 1995 Grande Champagne Cognac – An extraordinary cognac sniffed out by David Baker at Brandyclassics, this is one to treasure and bring out on special occasions. It has an intricate range of flavours, from mocha and dark chocolate to toasty walnut. Enjoy sparingly and it will keep for years.”

Henry Jeffreys, the Features Editor for Master of Malt, has written up his Hermitage Cognac Tasting Notes featuring the 1990 41%abv (which has since sold out), 1952, 1960, 1920 and the 1885 which he described as “Simply breath taking”. His in depth article can be read here.

Club Oenologique featured our Cognac Trophy winner, Hermitage 1960 Grande Champagne Cognac, describing it as “A seamlessly crafted and decadently enjoyable palate.” This was followed by a superb piece from Joel Harrison about ‘The cognac bounty hunter’, our very own MD, David Baker. Describing how the company came to be and our most exciting cognac finds to date, you can read it in its entirety here.

Hermitage Paradis 1885 GC Cognac – A Masterpiece

Posted March 10, 2021 / May 12, 2021 in Brandy Bottle Reviews, News, The Bottle Story and tagged 1885, double rancio, grande champagne, Hermitage Cognacs, masterpiece, Paradis, rancio

Our range of Hermitage Paradis Cognacs continues to expand with this stunning arrival from 1885. Perhaps the best cognac we have ever tasted, this masterpiece will never be repeated.

Distilled in the year that the Statue of Liberty arrived in New York, a gift from the French people, it has been aged for a staggering 110 years. The much sought after ‘rancio’ in this cognac is incredibly intense and rich. It was brought about by long barrel ageing, in two different barrels, which has created an unbelievable ‘double rancio’ effect. The aroma is remarkable and the flavour, sensational. Many of the aromas are also found in the flavours. The molasses, cherry and roasted walnut are all there but also turmeric and black truffle, medlar, allspice, fig, cocoa and almond.

Released with very limited supply, there are only a few bottles remaining already …..

Brandyclassics News – Alex Johnson Joins Us

Posted November 9, 2020 in News and tagged Alex Johnson, cognac, Hermitage Cognacs, iwsc, rare cognac, the decanter, Vintage Cognacs

It is with great pleasure and excitement that we introduce to you Alex Johnson, our new National Accounts Manager. Alex will be responsible for building our already successful Hermitage brand and forging close, supportive customer relationships with both the On and Off Trade. He has worked in the spirits sector of the drinks industry for more than 10 years and brings with him a wealth of experience and knowledge associated with brown spirits and in particular cognacs.

More online tastings have been taking place and we have enjoyed some wonderful feedback from the Press. Joel Harrison writing on the IWSC website, Douglas Blyde on Twitter and David Longfield in The Decanter have all extoled the virtues of our single estate, vintage Hermitage Cognacs, especially some of the older ones, made more than a century ago, which are now taking pride of place in our range.

Hermitage 1960 Wins The Cognac Trophy At IWSC 2020

Posted October 22, 2020 / October 22, 2020 in Brandy Bottle Reviews, News and tagged cognac, cognac lover, cognac trophy, grande champagne, Hermitage Cognacs, luxury cognac, rare cognac

Having received news that Hermitage Single Estate Cognacs won three Gold Medals or better at IWSC 2020, we have just found out that Hermitage 1960 Grande Champagne Cognac won The Cognac Trophy.

Scoring 98 points the judges commented:

“Exceedingly complex and broad in its depth of aromas and flavours. Prominent notes of refreshing and zingy sherbet are united with red berries and smooth hints of fine leather for a seamlessly crafted and decadently elegant enjoyable palate.”

In celebration of this fantastic news we are offering 10% Off this magnificent cognac throughout October. Distilled 60 years ago, it is the perfect gift for anyone born in 1960.

Decanter Magazine Features Hermitage Cognacs 1885, 1920, 1923 & 1944

Posted October 13, 2020 in Brandy Bottle Reviews, News, The Bottle Story and tagged cognac, Decanter, grande champagne cognac, Hermitage Cognacs, luxury cognacs, rare cognacs, very old cognacs

David Longfield has written in Decanter magazine describing the excitement of tasting some of our most precious nectars with MD, David Baker. All produced over 75 years ago, these Grande Champagne vintages are some of the best we have ever stocked. Here is a snippet of the article to whet your appetite. The entire piece can be read here.

“Hermitage Cognac works with top Cognac houses to hunt out small parcels of such old spirits still preserved among the five or six hundred independent producers around the region, looking primarily for those with verifiable vintage dates or age statements that define how long they’ve spent in barrel.”

Longfield goes onto write “The barrel ageing, and the conditions of the cellars in which it takes place, are the critical factors, Baker says: ‘It’s really what fine Cognacs are all about.’ He continues: ‘This ageing process develops [over many years] into what we call “rancio” – a kind of madeirisation, a richness and sweetness. I think this is highly sought-after: a natural richness, not a sugary sweetness.’”

The Double Rancio Effect

Posted September 11, 2020 in Brandy Education, News and tagged 1885, AE Dor, cognac, double rancio, grande champagne cognac, Hermitage Cognacs, rancio

Double Rancio Around 40 years ago I was privileged to be given what today I would describe as, one of the 10 finest cognacs in the world. I was staying at one of the finest hotels in Monaco and the sommelier, whose name was Georges, poured me a glass of A E Dor Hors d’Age No 5, 1840 Grande Champagne. He was seeking my opinion and needless to say, I was completely taken with it. One of the greatest achievements a cellar master can claim is the production of a balanced cognac with a perfect rancio and this cognac did not disappoint. Rancio is an intense richness that affects every taste bud in your mouth, providing intense syrupy flavours, as experienced after tasting a 100 year old Malmsley, with the aromas of an old madeira cellar.

Unbelievably, I have recently found a similarly wonderful cognac, but it has even more exquisite qualities. Its slightly musty aromas of spices, dried fruit peel, pineapple and roasted nuts combined with dates, liquorice, cocoa and molasses are only an introduction to the intense complexity of aromas and flavours which provide another step of fulfilment in the tasting of fine cognac; one that only a few of us will experience in our lives. It encompasses the joy of discovering that there is another level of perfection, a perfection that takes a cognac from being one of the ten best to being the very best. It is the nectar poured from the golden chalice, the pinnacle of perfection and the cognac we can usually only dream about.

So, what is it that makes this cognac so special? In this very exclusive world of fine cognac the term rancio does not occur often and usually, when it does, we are referring to very old cognacs from Grande Champagne. There is a reason for this. Cognacs from the Premier cru age much more slowly than those from the other crus. This is due to the soil, or rather I should say chalk, which in the area south of the town of Cognac and north of the river Ne is particularly porous. The vine roots here can penetrate up to 30 metres into the water margins and as a result, the grapes are fuller producing a more flavourful wine which takes longer to develop in the barrel.

But it is not the cognac alone that creates a rancio effect. Not so far from the Charente, lie the forests of Limousin where, over hundreds of years, oak has been cut and re-planted to make the barrels in which cognacs are aged. The staves are split and left to age for 5 years before they are cut and formed into barrels. The barrels are toasted just enough to burn off the harmful tannins but leave the good tannins to help mature the new cognac. After some months this new cognac is moved to an older home, into previously used barrels where it will stay until it is decided that the cognac is ready to bottle. This can take up to 80 years when usually all the tannins, lignins and hemi-cellulose in the barrels have been used up and can no longer have an effect on the cognac. The hemi-cellulose lasts the longest in the wood and it is this that imparts the desirable richness we call rancio. It was the depth of rancio that made the AE Dor Hors d’Age No 5 so very special but at only 34% abv, the flavours, though easier to detect, may not preserve well.

Now, imagine what would happen if you aged a Grande Champagne cognac, with all the qualities of AE Dor 1840, in a barrel for 100 years and then put it into another barrel where the hemi-cellulose was still available. It would provide a ‘double rancio’ and that is exactly what happened to one of our cognacs. It was, after 100 years of ageing, placed back into wood for another 10 – 12 years and the result was the accomplishment of excellence.

That cognac is our Hermitage 1885 Grande Champagne @46% abv.

Complex Aromas in Aged Cognac

Posted June 22, 2020 / June 22, 2020 in Brandy Education, News and tagged aromas, cognac, cognac aromas, Hermitage Cognacs

Aromas The American Chemical Society has identified a few compounds, not previously known, which contribute to an aged cognac’s complex aromas. Using cognacs ranging from about 10 – 50 years old, a combination of gas chromatography/olfactometry and mass spectrometry separated, smelled and identified their various components. Of the many found, several terpenoids (which give wine its floral notes) were identified for the first time. A sensory panel then looked at how, when mixed, these cognac compounds contributed to ageing aromas eg they found that whisky lactone and β-damascenone enhanced the sensation of a mix of terpenes found in aged distillates but not in younger ones. The report suggests that these findings could help producers develop cognacs with better flavours, although it only refers to blended cognacs. So, our single cask Hermitage Cognacs will continue to receive their wonderful aromas and flavours from the oak.

The Charente Scene – Spring 2020

Posted May 26, 2020 in News and tagged cognac, Hermitage Cognacs, new, snow, spring, The Charente

Spring Over the years we have built many relationships with suppliers and friends in the Charente and particularly in Grande Champagne. Although it is some months since we have been able to travel to France, we still talk frequently to them by phone and they, like ourselves, are having to cope with the difficulties that the coronavirus has created this Spring. Cognac producers and bottlers are having to prove that they are producing to get paid as the French authorities are worried about the cost to the country. Talking to one organisation, their concern is the receipt of orders as much of their business comes from the Far East. However, they are delighted to have received their first orders from Taiwan and Japan. Delivering orders is another challenge as European distribution organisations are finding that crossing borders takes longer than usual. All the big houses are continuing to bottle and ship cognac, except Hennessy. Their employees have gone on strike for safer working conditions. The industry has so far lost sales of over a million cases which of course has affected the side industries such as barrel producers and bottle suppliers. And if these problems were not enough, many producers woke up at the beginning of March to a covering of snow! The air force base in Cognac has also been helping during the crisis; 2000 extra staff have been taken on to ship food in and in some cases, cognac out. So, if things get desperate, we can always ask for direct supplies from Cognac to be parachuted in!!!

What is the Best Cognac?

Posted May 20, 2020 in Brandy Education, News and tagged best cognac, cognac tastes, Hermitage Cognac Marie Louise, Hermitage Cognacs

As most of you know, I spend a great deal of my time tasting cognacs because as a company we believe that every cognac must be perfect for its intended type of customer. But being perfect doesn’t necessarily mean it is the cognac which excels in taste above all others. The simple truth is that a cognac which I may consider is the best cognac may not be the same one that you like because our palates have become accustomed, over time, to different taste characteristics which our brains have accepted as good.
Perhaps the term ‘taste characteristics’ is one to associate with fine cognacs; they will differ from one cognac to another and in most producers’ opinions, their own will be better than any other available. This is not surprising as producers spend their lifetime tasting their own cognacs, few ever venture onto another producer’s patch and few have any idea of how to compare their own production with that of their neighbours.
So, how do you know what is good and what perhaps is not so good? Well, when you have tasted thousands of different brandies you get to know when you have a really good cognac in your glass. As a professional cognac taster, I am looking for a number of different qualities. I look at the colour and how the cognac hangs on the glass, but the first real test of quality comes with the complexity of its aroma and if those aromas can be translated into taste. Finally, and perhaps the most important criteria of all is its balance; the need to maximise flavour whilst minimising the fieriness of the cognac.
The actual taste element of a cognac is personal as we all have different ideas about what we like. You might think I am lucky getting to taste so many expensive cognacs but don’t be fooled into thinking that if a cognac is expensive it is good. Even these can have sugar added as it softens a cognac but, it also gives a sort of false sweetness. On the other hand, a cognac which has been in a barrel for 50 or 60 years develops its richness naturally, the effect is known as ‘Rancio’. This is a very desirable but rare effect as most cognacs available today have been aged for less than 10 years old.
So, I hear you say, what is the best cognac? Well, I’ll tell you my favourite. It is a cognac which I found 4 or 5 years ago, not a million miles from our office near Segonzac, in the heart of Grande Champagne. It has aged in oak for more than 60 years and has come from a family’s private cellar. We have the privilege of selling it under the Hermitage label; it is expensive but not as expensive as other so-called luxury cognacs. It is perfectly balanced, complex in aroma and flavour, has a rich ‘rancio’ and won the Cognac Masters Best Cognac 2018. We call it ‘Marie Louise’.

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Tag: Hermitage Cognacs