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Hermitage Cognacs Offer Excellent Value

Posted / in Brandy Bottle Reviews, News and tagged , , , ,

cognacs offer excellent value

In the latest edition of ‘The Spirits Business’ we read that “Despite global inflation causing the price of spirits to rise, research shows that consumers are still more willing to purchase higher end products ….. Specifically Cognac, which remains the most expensive category of all spirits, is up by 132%”. Hermitage Cognacs has always been positioned at the very top end of the category but how does it compare to the competition? Many high end cognacs are sold in fancy presentations, often made from embellished crystal, and sold as rare, limited editions. But what about the liquid inside? The cognac may come from the top cru, Grande Champagne, but no information is given about the age of the cognac in the barrel or whether it comes from a particular vintage. One must conclude it is a blend of cognacs that are slightly different from previously released ones. Rarity always comes at a cost but prices in excess of £40,000 seem astounding.

Let’s make some comparisons with the Hermitage range. Our vintages come from 1 or 2 barrels of cognac that were distilled in a particular year and have never been blended. They can often be likened to the well known phrase used in whisky circles, ‘Single Cask’. Also, by definition, they are limited editions as once the vintage has been drunk it can never be replaced. For example, we sell a top cru vintage from 1923, where the grapes were harvested 100 years ago. It was left untouched and aged in a cellar for about 70 years before bottling at 43% abv. Although presented in a traditional cognac bottle, it is a huge contrast in quality and price. This Hermitage 1923 Grande Champagne Cognac retails for just under £2100.

If it is the quality of the presentation that attracts you, do take a look at our Hermitage Marie Louise Cognac. The cognac has been aged in oak barrels for 70 years and is sold by the litre, rather than 70cl. It is presented 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 and retails at £2220. We have to conclude that Hermitage Cognacs offer excellent value in the premium cognac market.

The Bottle Story – Frapin 750 How Much?

Posted in Brandy Bottle Reviews, The Bottle Story and tagged , , , , , , ,

FrapinFrapin has just released a limited edition run of this unique presentation to celebrate 750 years since the family’s oldest member was born in Cognac in 1270.  We do applaud these small family firms who have passed on their skills from generation to generation and not taken the easy route of selling to the ‘big four’.  The Frapin 750 contains some very old Grande Champagne eau de vie, albeit blended, and is presented in a Baccarat crystal carafe decorated with Belle Epoch-like grapevine etchings.  Just 21 of these presentations have been produced – to represent the 21 generations of the Frapin family – now that really is history in a bottle.  It oozes quality and style but so does the price tag.  One of these will set you back an astounding £43,956.  That’s equivalent to 25 of our Hermitage Marie Louise Cognacs in crystal decanters!

Hefty price tags like this are, however, quite common-place in the world of whisky.  Two recent releases demonstrate that, even without 750 years of family firm history, large sums of money can be charged.  Glengoyne and Glenfarcas have just released limited-edition whiskies, in engraved crystal decanters and luxury presentation boxes.  The Glengoyne 50 yo single malt costs £22,500 and the Glenfarcas 60 yo single cask, £19,500.  Compare these prices to equivalent cognacs (Hermitage 50 yo @ £400 and Hermitage 60 yo @ £530) and it is difficult to see where they come from.  Market forces must play their part but demand for old cognacs is on the rise so perhaps soon, their prices will too.

Complex Aromas in Aged Cognac

Posted / in Brandy Education, News and tagged , , ,

AromasThe 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. 

Cognac Classifications on Bottle Labels

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cognac classificationsThere are all manner of cognac classifications found on bottle labels, but what do they actually mean?  Most of the generic terms below describe cognacs made by blending hundreds, or even thousands, of cognacs together to produce a vast quantity of a homogenous product for sale on supermarket shelves.  As demand increases younger and younger cognacs are used in these blends so sugar syrup and caramel colouring are added to obscure the fieriness on the tongue and lack of appealing colour.

VS stands for Very Special.  Also known as *** (3-star) or Premium, the youngest eau-de-vie in the blend must be at least 2 years old.  Many of these younger cognacs are purchased by the ‘Big Four’ companies in order to meet their ever-growing demand.

VSOP stands for Very Superior Old Pale.   The youngest eau-de-vie in the blend must be at least 4 years old.  The colour of cognac deepens the longer it stays in contact with the wooden barrel.  Although described as ‘Pale’ these young cognacs can also have caramel added which provides a red glow.

Napoleon.  Named after the very famous Frenchman, Napoleon Boneparte, the youngest eau-de-vie in the blend must be at least 6 years old.  Up until April 2018, this was also the age of XO.

XO stands for Extra Old and must be aged for a minimum of 10 years.  Although not official terms, Extra and Hors d’Age are often used to describe cognac of XO quality and age.  Some small producers sell XO that maybe up to 20 years old but, it is unlikely that this will be specified on the label.

XXO is a new classification that stands for Extra, Extra Old and the youngest eaux-de-vie in any blend must have been aged for a minimum of 14 years.

Other terms such as Reserve, Très Vieille and Heritage are often used to describe blends that are much older than XXO although none are official nomenclature.  They could be 15 or 50 years old.

So you can see that it is very difficult to decipher exactly what is in your bottle of cognac with a generic label as only minimum ages are specified and they are highly blended.  Sometimes Single Estate is used to describe a cognac where all the eau de vie used has come from the same estate.  In this case, far fewer cognacs will be used to make the blend so the flavour should be more individual.

cognac classificationsCognacs with Age Statements (eg 30 Year Old) are more precise as they list the youngest eau de vie used and may also comprise a blend of just one or two cognacs or indeed be Single Cask (unblended).  Vintage Cognacs also give you specific information.  The year on the label describes the year the grapes were harvested.  The cognac will be aged to perfection before being taken out of the wood and placed in glass when it will no longer mature.  Most vintage cognacs will tell you when the cognac was bottled and therefore, for how long it was aged.  This is the category that has the most information available to you, the customer.  They are expensive to produce as the casks are strictly controlled throughout the decades of ageing.  However, you can be sure that you are drinking cognac that has been matured to its optimum level, is unblended and has an unbelievable variation of aromas and flavours.  We call this complexity.

The Travel Retail Sector

Posted in News, News from the Brandy Houses and tagged ,

Travel Retail SectorCommonly known as ‘Duty Free’, the Travel Retail Sector has long been the testing ground for new brandy releases – presumably travelling customers are more adventurous than those shopping from home?  Often it is the packaging that is markedly different; the big houses like to involve famous artists in their limited edition, presentation designs.  Just recently though, we have seen a real change in approach from some of the smaller houses.  Prunier, one of the oldest independent cognac houses, has just released The Age Statement Collection.  It comprises 8 guaranteed age cognacs, from 10 to 80 years old. Prunier’s President said “Our commitment is to offer the most natural cognacs with no artificial colouring, no sugar and no added wood extract.  We are a very small company and perhaps make our cognac in old-fashioned ways, but we have a lot of experience in age statements and vintages and believe in being different.”  We could not have put that better ourselves!  It’s good to see another quality cognac house following in Hermitage’s footsteps, even if their price range of 130€ – 6999€ seems rather steep to us.

Another new Duty Free product comes from William Grant & Sons who have, for the first time, released a range of cognacs.  They have teamed up with La Guilde du Cognac to produce a terroir driven collection.  Called the Single Village Collection, each bottle is in fact a vintage with the village of origin and cru designated on the label.  Clearly, William Grant’s have, like Hermitage, recognised the increasing desire of customers to know exactly what is in their bottle of cognac rather than accepting a generic blend.  The marketing is clever using a new expression ‘single village’ to describe the purity of its product and it is interesting that 4 of the cognac crus, rather than just the top 2, have been represented.  And it is not just cognac that is testing the Travel Retail Sector.  Calvados producers 30&40 have also created a new range of limited edition, single cask, products.  Each is described by its cru and age meaning that they are all calvados fermier – spirits made entirely by a single farmer.  We are delighted to see the travel retail market moving in this direction.  Numbers on bottles has been our mantra for over a quarter of a century.

The Bottle Story – Comandon 2012 Cognac

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Comandon 2012 CognacThis is a very young, vintage cognac (aged for 3 years) but with an interesting history.

 

It was produced to mimic the pre-Phylloxera style; that is using the single grape variety Folle Blanche from the Bon Bois cru.  It is also a single cask vintage with a higher that average alcohol content at 41.3% (although pre-Phylloxera cognacs were often left at cask strength).  The Folle Blanche today accounts for only 10% of grapes grown in the region as the majority were decimated in the pre-Phylloxera outbreak and the rootstocks now in use are better suited to cropping Ugni Blanc grapes.  Cognacs from Bon Bois are also now much less popular as even the big houses tend to look no further afield than Fin Bois.  That said, the Comandon 2012 Cognac is an interesting idea, which we will sadly probably never get to taste, as only 120 bottles were produced for the American market

Our Vintage Brandies Range From 1900 – 2005

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We Have Every Single Year From 1930 – 1994

Brandies from every yearWe specialise in supplying vintage brandies for special occasions.  Cognac, armagnac and calvados originate in France and we select only the very best.  The range has been expanding since we started out more than a quarter of a century ago.  It now spans over a century.

Our stocks include a vintage for every single year from 1930 to 1994 – that’s 65 years of birthdays, anniversaries and special occasions which can be marked with something truly special.  Vintage brandies were harvested in the year they were labelled and then aged, untouched in casks for many years.  Single estate, single cask and no additives – just pure brandy – the perfect way to celebrate.

David Baker and Brandyclassics

It was in the early 1980s that whilst visiting Monaco, the sommelier of a well known hotel in the Principality offered David a cognac to taste after his dinner. It was quite exceptional and after several more, he provided the name of the cognac and the house. Some time after, David visited the firm (which turned out to be in Jarnac) with the intention of buying a bottle. The cognac turned out to be no less than the A. E. Dor 1840 which, even in those days, was worth well over a thousand pounds a bottle. David formed Brandyclassics and a distribution for Dor cognacs was started but it soon became obvious that the need to look further afield was crucial.

David started work to identify the very finest producers of cognacs and other brandies from the top crus in the key brandy production areas of France. David’s knowledge of the French cognac and brandy producers is highly regarded, not just by his French colleagues who offer thousands of cognacs and brandies for tasting, but also by clients all over the world who have experienced his knowledge and understanding of the classic brandy markets. His work with hundreds of producers and enthusiasm for the old and specialised firms, who produce the very finest golden nectars, is linked to his ability to communicate the unbelievable qualities in the vast array of cognacs and brandies available to those who have not had the benefit of experiencing pure, naturally aged brandies.

David still gives talks and is often found training bar and restaurant staff in the worlds finest hotels and restaurants.

“David Baker at Brandyclassics is a brandy gumshoe, a man with the years of experience, immaculate palate and network of contacts that makes it possible for him to hunt out rare and special casks of cognac.  On his website you can find many fine vintage cognacs.”

Victoria Moore, The Daily Telegraph

Hermitage Cognacs

Having got to know many cognac producers, David soon realised that he could find other individual cognacs with age statements and sell them under his own brand name. Unlike wine and spirit businesses, Brandyclassics had become specialised in the spirits market selling cognacs, armagnacs and calvados, all with age statements or vintages. He understood that customers were looking for something different from the XO and VSOP brandies which were readily available in the shops. The real opportunity came in 2005 when Brandyclassics supplied some cognacs to the Russian market as this gave the opportunity to search out some of the really fine Grande Champagne cognacs that were still ageing in barrels.  At this point it was decided to buy and bottle under the house brand, called Hermitage. 

The finest cognacs in the Hermitage range are mainly from Grande Champagne but cognacs from this cru age much slower than those from some of the others. As a policy, therefore, all Hermitage Cognacs are at least ten years old and the very finest can have aged in their oak barrels for more than sixty years.  Hermitage doesn’t want blended, generic cognacs; there is no individuality in blends, especially those from the bigger houses who may blend up to a thousand or more cognacs to make a VSOP or XO cognac. Mixing cognacs from another house immediately hides the very special qualities that the distiller has worked a lifetime to produce.

When Hermitage finds a good cognac they will sell it as a single estate, pure and naturally aged, be it an old vintage or a twenty year old gem. Hermitage are true craft cognacs, approaching 40% of them have won gold or above medals, a fact that speaks for itself.

“Hermitage Cognac is dedicated to ferreting out rare, single-estate cognacs from under-the-radar producers …….. if you want to witness how beautifully a cognac can age, Hermitage is the place to go.”

Alice Lascelles, Financial Times

Nicholas Faith 1933 – 2018

Nick, journalist & leading author of many cognac books has been a regular visitor to Brandyclassics over the years tasting the many cognacs in the range. This is what Nick had to say about Brandyclassics.

“Most cognac lovers mourn the fact that four firms account for seven out of eight bottles of the precious liquid sold in the world. But it doesn’t worry me, because the bigger the firms the more room there is for the little ‘uns, provided of course that they’re good little-uns and as the author of the standard work on Cognac I spend most of my time hunting out the best of them. And David Baker’s Brandyclassics is both small and good. He’s been in love with cognac for decades and has spent the past twenty years searching out some of the hoards of fine brandies owned by growers (or brokers or small merchants for that matter) too selective to see their precious casks transformed into just one of the hundreds of ingredients in the more expensive brandies offered by the Big Four.

But they trust David to provide their brandies with a better fate: as individual examples in the unique Hermitage range he has developed. For every one of his offerings comes from a single grower, usually in the Grande Champagne – though he’s not afraid to offer the best brandies from other regions like the Borderies and Fins Bois – which are often the contents of a single cask. What is more – and something I greatly appreciate – he’s choosy, he firmly rejects most of the brandies he’s offered and, rarest of all, he knows his suppliers well enough to guarantee the age statement on their bottles. This can be before the arrival of the phylloxera bug or as late as the end of the 20th century.”

Nicholas Faith, Author of Cognac: The story of the world’s greatest brandy

Luxury with Hermitage Vintage Cognacs

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Indulge in the epitome of luxury with Hermitage Vintage Cognacs, crafted from the finest grapes of the Premier Cru region. Our luxury cognacs undergo meticulous distillation in small stills, followed by long natural ageing in oak casks. This individual ageing process enhances the richness and complexity of Hermitage Cognac, unequalled by major producers and resulting in a truly luxurious experience with each savoured sip.

Luxury with Hermitage Vintage Cognacs


Benefits of Hermitage Cognac:

  • Value: Early Vintage cognacs appreciate 7-10% p.a.
  • Vintage Cognac: Decades of ageing in dark cellars and bottled at the peak of excellence.
  • Single Cru: Sourced exclusively from the Premier Cru of Cognac, ensuring unparalleled quality and refinement.
  • Premier Cru: Handpicked grapes from prestigious estates, reflecting the essence of the region’s terroir and heritage.
  • Single Estate: Each cognac represents generations of skills and experience by individual distillers on acclaimed estates.
  • Unblended: Our cognacs are unadulterated, preserving the pure essence of the distillation process and showcasing the true character of the grapes.
  • No Artificial Additives: Free from artificial additives, our luxurious cognacs are a testament to authenticity and purity.

Hermitage Returns to Prowine Singapore 23 – 26 April 2024

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Discover why Hermitage Single Estate Cognacs are revered as the pinnacle of luxury. Our commitment to sourcing high quality, aged premier cru cognacs ensures an unparalleled tasting experience. From 20 year old cask matured eaux de vie to rare finds aged for nearly a century, our cognacs are free from artificial additives, and boast age statements for transparency.

Chosen for maximum flavour and minimal alcohol burn, Hermitage Single Estate Cognacs undergo long barrel ageing in dark, humid cellars by seasoned cellar masters. Plus, enjoy competitive prices that are only half that of big brand generic blends like VSOP and XO.

Hermitage Single Estate, Premier Cru Cognacs are magnificent examples of luxury and  our Asian customers adore them. We are now actively distributing our fine cognacs across Southeast Asia. Tasting is believing so come and taste the mastery of tradition at Prowine Singapore, 23 – 26 April, booth 2C2-11. Sample our classic cognacs, including the Hermitage 50 Year Old, Hermitage 1944, 1960, 2004, and the magnificent 1 litre crystal decanter, Marie Louise 70 Year Old, all timeless classics from the Grande Champagne region.

Looking to offer your customers the finest cognacs? Look no further than Hermitage Cognac.

 Register your visit to Prowine Singapore 2024 for free here.