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TV Presenter and journalist, Olly Smith, tastes plenty of cognacs in the course of his work and last month he recommended our Hermitage 1999 Cognac as “The Daddy of gifts – as complex and satisfying as a Dickens novel.” He also had some other gift ideas too – “…why not hunt a bottle from his birth year from a top quality range at Brandyclassics which presents bottles in impressive boxes?”
On 6th of June 1944 over 130,000 Allied soldiers landed on the beaches of Normandy in the biggest sea-borne invasion in military history. Known as Operation Overlord, the Allied mission was clear – to retake France from the invading Germans. Landing on 5 beaches designated with the codenames by which they are still known today: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword, the soldiers stormed the coast from Saint-Marie-du-Mont to Ouistreham, taking thousands of casualties. This was one of the most audacious and heroic wartime operations of the 20th Century and 80 days later the Allies had successfully repelled the German forces.
Many celebrations are taking place this week to mark this momenetous occasion and we can offer some exquisite French toasts to match. We have a wonderful cognac aged in oak barrels for 70 years and two vintage armagnacs distilled in 1944. If you prefer something produced more locally, take a look at our range of calvados, all from Normandy:
https://www.brandyclassics.com/calvados.html
This month we are offering a 5% Discount Code for use on our Website to anyone who Likes our Facebook page or Follows us on Linked In.
All you have to do is ‘Like’ us or ‘Follow’ us, the links are on the Home Page, and then e mail us at cognac@brandyclassics.com to let us know. We will then send you a unique Promotion Code to use on our website by 30 June 2014.
New figures from the WSTA show that pubs are becoming increasingly reliant on wine and spirit sales which are being served in equal measure with beer in newly opened gastro pubs, restaurants and bars. Forecasts from CGA Strategy show that wine and spirit sales in the on trade are on the up and by 2018 spirits sales will have increased from 22% to 24%. This must be a welcome trend for pubs and hotels as this sector of the market provides considerably greater profitability. The mark up on spirits, in particular, is one which hotels are beginning to recognise. Cognacs of exceptional quality, such as Hermitage, provide the customer with a high level of choice and individuality for which they are prepared to pay. Our own on trade customers have seen that adding Hermitage Cognacs to their range can be extremely rewarding.
The news of a slowdown in cognac sales in the valuable Chinese markets has originated mainly from the big houses. More than any other they have seen a substantial slowdown in the sales of younger spirits which have, in many ways, been over exploited with fancy and attractive presentations. After all, there is a limit to what you can say about a VSOP regardless of how it is packaged and the Chinese seem to have seen it all. It would appear to the smaller, but higher quality firms, that there is VSOP fatigue and XO malaise hanging over the Charente, and they are unable to provide an explanation. Perhaps the political situation in France has, in a way, had an impact on people’s thinking. The effect of the weakening economy, coupled with a hot and very damp spring bringing a threat of rot and mould on the vines, is enough for any Frenchman to throw up his arms in despair! Don’t be put off though, some of our XO cognacs still give great value for money.
Suntory Holdings Limited, based in Osaka, and US based Beam Inc. have announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement whereby Suntory will acquire all shares of Beam in a deal worth $16bn. The acquisition, which will bring together Beam’s Courvoisier Cognac with Suntory’s Louis Royer Cognac, amongst other famous brands, is expected to make it the third largest supplier of premium spirits in the world, with a stated aim of becoming the global leader in distilled spirits. Wasting no time on its expansion plans, it is reported that Suntory have subsequently made a bid to buy Whyte & Mackay whisky which has been put up for sale by fellow drinks giant, Diageo. Competition concerns by the UK Office of Fair Trading forced Diageo to make this sale following its takeover of United Spirits. One therefore has to question the motive of Suntory in making this move as they may now be heading for a run in with the OFT themselves. So many cognac houses have been bought up of late it is always a concern to see the control of one of the big four moving to the Far East. Monopolies of this size cannot be good for the cognac industry however we are in no doubt that our own House, Hermitage, will survive.
Hermitage Cognac is found in many countries including the Middle East and Russia but this year Thailand has taken its first full container shipment of our second brand, Siécle d’Or, 10 and 20 year old cognacs. The 6000 bottle shipment is available at all of the Thai Duty Free shops and outlets and we are expecting a further order from them later this year. Demand for our Hermitage and Siécle d’Or Cognacs, with age statements, continues to grow as customers seek greater levels of individuality so, for the first time in the company’s history, we will be exhibiting at VINEXPO 2014 in Hong Kong in May. The exhibition is held in Bordeaux and Hong Kong on alternate years and is regarded by most industry professionals as the world’s biggest wines and spirits exhibition. We will be launching new products and presentations at the show and hope to be attracting buyers from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and South Korea as well as the key China market.
There is a very definite correlation between the Chivas Brothers’ view of producing a great spirit and our own. Three or four years ago the whisky producers launched the ‘Age Matters’ campaign which challenged consumers to ‘Look for the number. Know the age. Know whisky.’ The campaign was based on research conducted worldwide which found that over 90% of consumers believe that age is an important indicator of quality and 89% stated that they actively look for an age statement when buying. ‘Numbers on Bottles’, as an ethos, was pioneered by Hermitage Cognacs in the late 1990s. We wholeheartedly agree that customers associate age with quality and in their quest for luxury cognac with individuality, they need to see numbers on the bottle. Each one of the Hermitage range is either a vintage, carrying the year the cognac was distilled, or has an age statement which gives the number of years the cognac was aged in the barrel. By labelling in this way we give our customers ultimate confidence that they are buying great quality cognac, from single estates; a message with which Chivas obviously agrees as their latest campaign ‘Great Things Take Time’ advocates.
Longer days and lazy evenings are what we are all looking forward to now that British Summer Time has begun. This time of year also marks the end of the cognac distillation process for last summer’s harvest – strict regulations dictate that it must be completed by 31 March – and so, the ageing process for the 2014 vintage has already begun.
The longer it is left in oak barrels the finer it will be, which is why our very old vintages are particularly special. Hermitage Reaux 1954 was distilled 60 years ago and just oozes rich, dark chocolatey flavours whilst our 1914 Borderies is now a centurion and has the elegance and finesse to match.
Like the long summer evenings ahead, they really are worth waiting for…
There have been significant changes at Remy Martin over the past month. First, it was announced that their Cellar Master, of 10 years, is to be replaced in the spring and then, last week, their newly appointed CEO resigned after only 3 months in post. Although his resignation came as a surprise, it coincided with some poor company results. Stock levels have dropped by 23% since he took over in October and operating profit is expected to be down by 20% at the end of the fiscal year. These personality changes suggest that all is not well at Remy. It would seem that the Board is on a quest for a more profit driven approach, no doubt at the expense of quality. We have seen similar changes at family rivals, Frapin, in recent times. A drive to expand saw their extremely talented Cellar Master, Olivier Paultes, move on and the running of the company being passed down a generation. Their cognac may never be quite the same again.
