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Hermitage Cognac Marie Louise is 70 Years Old

Hermitage Cognac Marie Louise is a Grande Champagne cognac from one of the region’s top artisan producers. Still in cask, it is now a magnificent 70 years old.

Some of the finest cognacs ever made were produced in the early twentieth century as, by this time, knowledge of distillation and the ageing process had been significantly refined. Cognac Marie Louise is one of the few remaining cognacs produced during this period. It is from the top cru, Grande Champagne and has matured for more than 70 years in oak casks.

This truly great cognac is named after Marie Louise, the second wife of Napoleon Boneparte. She bore his son who was given the title ‘Roi de Rome’ and who later became Napoleon II.

One litre of this glorious cognac is offered in crystal decanters produced by Cumbria Crystal, the last producer of completely hand-blown and hand-cut, full-lead luxury English crystal in the UK.

The complex aromas, intensity and depth of flavours created by its careful distillation and ageing have created a masterpiece of smoothness. The initial sensation is akin to lining one’s mouth with velvet. The rich and complex flavours of coffee, sultanas, toffee brittle, truffle, dried fig, cinnamon, hazelnut and clove are all wrapped up in an intensely rich rancio found only in the rarest of cognacs.

Only a few people will be privileged to taste this exceptional and rare cognac. Those that do will be delighted by the charm and elegance of Hermitage Cognac Marie Louise, made all those years ago.

“Likely to be one of the finest cognacs you have tasted.”  Victoria Moore, The Saturday Telegraph Luxury Supplement

Father's Day 2023 – Sunday 18th June

Father's Day 2023It’s that time of year again when fathers everywhere bask in the limelight for one special day.  Father’s Day 2023 falls on Sunday 18th June so what will you be buying to say “thank you” to that very important member of your family?

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If Dad’s a brandy drinker we have a huge selection of vintage cognacarmagnac and calvados.  All aged to perfection in French Oak barrels they are mellow and flavoursome.  We specialise in single estate, unblended cognacs made by Hermitage so take a look around, starting below with our Offers, you will find many luxurious bottlings with individual flavours.

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And if brandy is not his favourite, what about our organic whisky range from Denmark?  This award-winning producer uses local water which is pure, hard, and full of minerals and as the old saying goes ‘hard water makes soft whisky’.

Christmas Hermitage Reviews

Hermitage ReviewsHermitage ReviewsSome wonderful Hermitage Reviews this Christmas:

The new edition of Club Oenologique has just been published, with a fabulous review and picture of the Hermitage 1972 Cognac by Joel Harrison.

“Curator of some of the oldest single vintage and single vineyard Cognacs around, Hermitage is run from a small village in Wiltshire.  Cognac expert David Baker has built unrivalled relationships with some of the more boutique distillers in the region, allowing him to bottle extremely old and rare cognacs.  This 1972 vintage is drawn from grapes grown in the Petite Champagne region and has a sensationally aromatic nose, with balanced sweetness and acidity.  The cigar-hungry finish gives integrated wood and a spicy concentration as well as mildly drying tannins.”

Olly Smith, well known TV personality, has also been posting about our Hermitage 40 Year Old Grande Champagne Cognac.  Aged with great care and expertise, this wonderful Grande Champagne cognac has been in an oak barrel for 40 years slowly maturing to its optimum condition. Flavours of plum and vanilla expand into lychee, pear, hay, plum and dried mandarin demonstrating complexity and individuality.  Winner of The Cognac Masters 2020, Masters Award.

 

Cognacs With Age Statements

Age StatementsCognac house Maison Bache Gabrielsen has released a new series of cognacs with age statements called Years in Cask.  Good to see them following in our footsteps!  These cognacs are also vintages so by definition they must be single estate and cannot be blended.  Once vintage cognacs have reached their optimum maturity they are transferred to glass bonbonnes where they will mature no further.

Bache Gabrielsen have released 4 new cognacs aged from 19 to 37 years.  The younger two come from Grande Champagne, the top cru, where cognacs take the longest to mature whilst the older two come from Fin Bois, a lesser known cru.  Their prices range from £163 to £344 for a 70cl bottle with abvs being between 40 and 47 percent.  It is great to see another cognac house heralding the benefits of age statement and vintage cognac but before you part with your hard earned cash to try them out, take a look at the quality and price of the following, produced by Hermitage:

National Cognac Day – Saturday 4th June 2022

National Cognac Day 2022National Cognac Day on June 4th invites you to enjoy one of the finest alcoholic drinks available. Cognac, which originates from a town of the same name in France, is a type of brandy enjoyed because of its distilled and fine taste.  Cognac begins as a white wine that has been produced in one of six designated growing regions.  This definition explains the axiom ‘ all cognac is brandy but not all brandy is cognac’.  Ironically, the white wine from which cognac starts, is considered by most wine connoisseurs to be entirely undrinkable.  But once it has been distilled in an alembic still and aged in oak casks for years, it is absolutely delicious.

Cognac comes in multiple grades and exploring them can be a great way to spend National Cognac Day.   At the entry level cognac is great for making cocktails such as the Sidecar or French Connection.  At the  other end of the spectrum, single estate, unblended, vintage cognacs should be savoured, every sip enjoyed for its individuality and complex flavours.  Hermitage specialise in producing cognacs with numbers on the bottles so you know exactly what you’re buying and each one is unique.  National Cognac Day is the perfect opportunity to get to know one of the world’s most premium drinks.

Valentine’s is Just Around the Corner ……

Valentine'sRoses are red,

Violets are blue,

Surely one of these gifts,

Should be given by you ……..

 

This month’s offers include something for everyone.  We have a wonderful vintage, premier cru cognac from Hermitage.  The 1988 Grande Champagne has flavours of roasted walnuts, spice and toffee.  From armagnac we have a vintage Delord 1990 which has a handwritten label and wax seals to make it a very special gift.  And for the gin lover, a very special, organic, tangerine gin all the way from Mosgaard in Denmark.  Go on, spoil each other!

Hermitage 2010 GC Cognac Replaces 2005 Vintage

2010“All good things must come to an end” is a much used axiom which certainly applies to our Hermitage 2005 Vintage.  What a huge success it has been over the past few years!   A Gold Award winner at the Cognac Masters, its popularity went from strength to strength but of course the stocks depleted accordingly.  Our entry level vintages from the Chez Richon region have all been great successes – 1999, 2000 & 2005 – and we feel sure the new 2010 will be just as sought after.

Distilled at the turn of the last decade, this recent arrival is still in cask, ensuring that its flavours continue to mature ….. initial mocha on the palate leads to toffee and spices such as mace with apricot and mandarin on the finish.  We always like to see a Grande Champagne Cognac aged for a minimum of 10 years, as cognacs from this cru take longer to mature than those from other crus; the 2010 is already in its eleventh year.  Retailing at under £70, its the perfect summer treat and if you’ve not owned a vintage cognac before, this is the perfect excuse to try one!

 

Recent Press Articles Featuring Hermitage Cognacs

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House Supply featured in the Financial Times supplement

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David Baker, Hermitage Cognacs is The Bounty Hunter

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.

Single Cask Cognac – Whyever Not?

single caskSingle Cask is a term well known in the whisky industry, it certainly gives a product increased status and price but why is that?  The phrase Single Cask suggests a unique glimpse into a particular set of circumstances that has given rise to a one-off personality. The whisky may be from a certain year where the distillery was using a particular mashing regime, yeast strain or set of stills. It may have been stored in a warehouse that is known to provide certain conditions. The barrel itself is unique as no two trees are identical and coopers’ techniques differ, so the flavours that develop will be only found in that cask. Every distillery has its official range of bottlings which are created to please as many people as possible, but a Single Cask captures the stage before the identity is lost in the blend.  For distillery fans, this takes their experience a step further.  Rarity imparts value and so a Single Cask will be highly sought after.

Many of these special characteristics can also be found in cognac production.  Every year the very best cognacs are selected for long-term ageing, rather than joining the thousands of others destined to be blended.  The cellarmasters’ skills are paramount in bringing these chosen nectars to optimum maturity and many variations to the ageing process maybe employed.  So why are these cognac vintages or age statements not designated as Single Cask?  Perhaps the answer lies in the finer detail.

Amazingly, an industry-wide definition of Single Cask does not exist, but The Scottish Whisky Association (SWA) is clear on the rules that it enforces.  They feel that to be classed as Single Cask, the spirit must remain in the same barrel from the moment the spirit is filled until the moment it is bottled, without any revatting or finishing.  Therefore “a sherry finished single cask whisky” is not acceptable but a “single cask whisky finished in a sherry butt” is.  It is accepted however, that all whiskies will move from one barrel to another in the early stages of maturation, it is what happens next that is important.

The process of moving from new to old wood in the initial stage also applies to cognac so, when a vintage is kept in the same old oak barrel throughout its maturation, it will be Single Cask.  A problem arises though when there are multiple barrels of the same vintage which may be mixed for bottling.  Unlike in the whisky industry, barrel numbering is not common.  Cognacs can also be moved to different barrels during the ageing process.  The cellarmaster seeks to guide the spirit’s maturation path by using newer and older oak barrels at different stages.  This can really benefit the final quality and flavour of the cognac so is deemed to be more important than any benefits derived from being Single Cask.  The rules of cognac production are strict; it may not be put into barrels that have held other types of spirit, but it may be put into previously used cognac barrels.  The BNIC’s definition of Single Cask is a cognac that has always been stored in the same barrel so, the phrase could indeed be used to describe a particular barrel of cognac, but not as often as you might expect.

Father’s Day 2020 – Sunday 21st June

Father's Day 2020It’s going to be a very different Father’s Day 2020.  A long pub lunch or trip to his favourite restaurant maybe off the cards but you can always recreate some wonderful memories at home with a gift to savour. A local takeaway or home cooked roast is always a winner and how about something special to enjoy afterwards?  Our multi-award winning range of Hermitage Cognacs are all individual with fabulous flavours and can be enjoyed day after day.  To make this year’s Father’s Day particularly special we have reduced the price of three of our most popular Gold Medal winning Hermitage Cognacs and there is still FREE delivery in the UK for orders over £100.  Enjoy!