Availability of aged Eau de Vie at Low Levels

Cognac Prices Soar

The increasing demand for cognacs in the world markets should have been a warning to the industry and this could have been the case, except for a blip in demand in 2008 when fears for the world economy led to fears that we were producing too much.

Unfortunately, this was followed by a poor harvest and the damage to stocks was complete whilst demand, especially in SE Asia is marching on. The shortage of 5-10 year old eau de vie this year is forcing prices up in some areas by as much as 20% and in Grande Champagne price increases have already been as high as 14%.

Price increases for younger cognacs have not been quite so severe and older cognacs are only marginally higher at the moment. Trends in past years suggest that prices for ten year old cognac will drop around September since the big houses set their contracts at the beginning of the year. Many of the smaller distillers who rely on the big negoçiants will be looking to sell stock around September which should ease the pressure for smaller sellers.