World Record Breaking Cognac Collection

Over one thousand individual bottles of cognac have been amassed into a unique and prestigious collection that will be sold at auction in June.  Of the 5000 individual cognac producers, several hundred have contributed to the collection and every bottle is unique.  Many of the cognacs are the latest top end presentations from the big houses, which are commercially available, but more than half of the collection are of VSOP/XO quality and over 200 are said to be exceptional.  Of the latter, many are believed to be quite old, in rare or unusual bottles and come from individual, single estates. Late last year the Guinness Book of Records recognised the project as the largest single collection of cognacs in the world.

Wealthy cognac enthusiasts will have the opportunity to spend a minimum of €300,000 on this unique collection later in the year and the proceeds will go to financing Rotary Club charity projects. One has to wonder if it will be possible to sell it without breaking it all up and if it is, whether the collection will remain intact!

The main interest in the collection will be the 200 or so “exceptional” bottles which we understand are rare and old cognac vintages. As the leading supplier of pre-Phylloxera cognacs we are well aware of the commanding prices these old nectars can attract, especially those from the beginning of the nineteenth century. The demand for these old, rare cognacs has hugely increased, buoyed up by both the Russian and Chinese demand. Indeed, even those with larger availability, such as the 1811s which were as little as £4-5000 just five years ago, are today attracting prices nearer to £10,000 in good condition.  Not many recognise their real investment value.