Armagnac XO Definition Changed
The Bureau National Interprofessionnel de l’Armagnac (BNIA) has increased the minimum age requirement for Armagnac XO from 6 to 10 years, in line with a recent change to the cognac definition (see previous news story). The regulatory body said that it hopes the changes will help to raise the “value of the appellation” and emphasise the “real differences” between its classifications. The minimum age of an armagnac (and cognac) is now as follows:
VS 3+ years
VSOP 4+ years
Napoleon 6+ years
XO 10+ years
Just like in Cognac, the Armagnac region suffered from the severe spring weather with the heaviest rainfalls recorded since 1952! Thankfully the barometer has now stabilised and trellising has begun. This essential activity supports the vegetation ensuring good aeration of the grapes and minimal shoot damage by wind. Ripening is also optimised, as leaf exposure to the sun improves and thus, encourages photosynthesis. Of great ecological importance is the efficiency of phytosanitary treatment – the arrangement of the leaves on trellised plants helps this to improve. Finally, trellising also facilitates passage between the vines reducing time spent on viniculture and therefore crop costs. The recent good, stable, summer weather has ensured that this year, the budding and general well-being of the vines are exceptional. Very good news for the 2018 
The Cognac Region has once again been hit by severe hailstorms. At the end of May hailstones, some the size of golf balls, were seen in the south of Charente-Maritime, the Borderies, the west of Matha and the Rouillac area. In total, more than 10,000 hectares in the Cognac region were affected. However, an original estimate that 25% of the total crop was damaged has now been revised to 5-6% maximum. Although some areas were severely affected at the time, it now appears that the actual damage done is less than was originally anticipated. Harvest hopes have also been given a fresh boost with the sunny weather that followed the earlier storms, allowing the crops to ripen better than normal. It is expected that this year’s yield will be at least up to normal levels of 12 hectolitres of pure spirit per hectare. If this does prove to be the case it should help to stabilise 
For years the 
Another company seeking to recreate a cognac from a past era (see 
At Brandyclassics our philosophy has always been to provide as much support and guidance to our customers as possible. After months of planning we have relaunched our website, displaying images both larger and differently and with a clearer background. We hope the easier navigation will help you find the information and products you need and will be especially useful for those wanting to buy our cognacs and brandies on their portable devices.
We have a fantastic range of 
We are delighted to announce that three of our 
Making sure that our customers really do get the best means that, after we have decided on a potential cognac, we still need to do several tests. The first is of course tasting. It is difficult to say how many cognacs we taste but on some days, it may be twenty or even thirty, others, maybe only one or two. One tends to gather considerable experience when tasting many different cognacs. Then we check the cognac for balance which means balancing the fieriness against flavour. Sometimes we need to reduce the cognac slightly which in some cases take quite a long time. We also check it for sediment as some distillers don’t filter their cognacs before we receive them at our bottling plant. The alcohol level is also tested as legally, this must be quoted on the label. This process also involves checking the level of obscuration (factors which mask the true alcohol content). There is always some natural obscuration which cannot be avoided but in modern blends, the addition of sugar and caramel increases the level considerably.