The Bottle Story – Comandon 2012 Cognac

This 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