Category: The Bottle Story

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.

There are many times when we are asked to provide a cognac of a certain vintage or age. Whilst this may seem a relatively simple thing to do for a company that holds such a big and diverse range of cognacs, specific ages or vintages are always extremely difficult to find.

So a few years ago we started looking to find a specific 60 year old cognac, that is to say, a cognac that has been aged in a barrel for a minimum of 60 years. Cognacs of this age are extremely valuable and tend to be kept hidden at the back of cellars so that nobody will accidently form strong desire for such luxuries and buy the stock.

We were lucky, since we accidently found a large cellar in the middle of Segonzac which had some very special cognacs. We discovered the cellar about five or six years ago whilst seeking some older stock for the Russian market. When we were invited to return, much to our surprise, we recognised the style and were able to link the cognacs which we now buy from them to some very fine 60 year olds, which they reluctantly agreed to sell us a small quantity.

Because of the superb quality we decided to make this the celebratory Queen’s Diamond Jubileee Cognac 60 year old Cognac. It is rich, complex and has the most wonderful Rancio. It is expensive, it is also rare and very special…

Courvoisier have just announced a new product, called C by Courvoisier. It’s a cognac and they even call it a revolutionary cognac. “C” is supposed to open a new way of consuming cognac – a new approach to the category.

It’s produced in small batches, double barrel aged. OK up to here, do Courvoisier really believe we think it is single barrel aged? All cognac is double barrel aged, firstly in new barrels for 6-12 months, then in old barrels, hopefully for many years. But regrettably not for Courvoisier C, launched in the traditional black Josephine bottles. It is said that the blend comes from fifty growers, all in the Fins Bois which is the forth cru of Cognac and geographically the largest. Most cognacs from this region do tend to age faster than those from the Champagnes, they will often provide a dry nutty flavour but Courvoisier claim that it has a clove, toast, carnation and orange peel aroma with a fruity and floral flavour.It is ideal as a drink on a night out with the boys. And the “C”? Well, that is supposed to open a new way of consuming cognac, a new approach – “we drink it cold”. Hmmm, interesting, pass the sugar!

If your father was a cellar master, it would be fairly likely that you might grow up with some interest in the industry. In the case of Marianne Soupe, this particular line of work involved working with cognacs, so her ability to recognise different aromas and tastes has led her to be able to blend different cognacs into a range called Sylvelune which includes five different cognacs with names such as Cuvee Charme, Cuvee Sequoia, Lou and Charman Cognac.

Each bottle is labelled by hand and presented in a wooden box with a certificate. Disappointingly, there are no ages to any of the cognacs and we are expected to believe that they are old since she uses the standard definitions such as Hors d’Ages and Tres Vielle to encourage our belief in their age worthiness. Each bottle is numbered and sealed with a wax seal and presentation is attractive.

We are sure that these cognacs will be good but it seems that it is unlikely that we will be able to taste them since the collection is a strictly limited quantity. It is clear that Marianne is a gifted girl and we would like to meet her to taste her cognacs – but they are blended with many others from the Grande Champagne. What  a pity she has not recognised the advantages of single estate, we could then become seriously interested.