On a recent trip to the Charente I took this picture of a rose bush at the end of a row of cognac vines. This placement of rose bushes has created considerable interest from our followers.   I therefore thought it would make an ideal Technical Topic. Originally, roses were planted in vineyards as an early warning system. Roses and grapevines typically have the same type of soil and sun requirements.  In addition, both are prone to the infestation of a fungus known as powdery mildew. If this fungus appeared on the roses, the vines were sprayed with sulphur to… Read more

This 1957 Cognac has just arrived at our Hermitage Ville Ancienne stable.  It is another vintage cognac from the mid twentieth century. Hermitage 1957 Grande Champagne Cognac has a delightful initial aroma of ginger, sweet spices, linden and white truffle and exceptional flavours of roasted almonds, truffle, porcini and macadamia nuts. A long, balanced, grapefruit peel finish completes the enjoyment of this delicious nectar. The 1957 Cognac was distilled 60 years ago.  That same year the Soviet Union launched ‘Sputnik 1’ – the first artificial satellite to orbit the earth.  We also said goodbye to the much-loved Humphrey Bogart.

During the 18th Century smuggling in Cornwall was a way of life.  It is said that at its peak, more than 500,000 gallons of French brandy was smuggled in per year.  This equates to more than two million bottles. Whole families were involved and the number of smugglers far outweighed the number of Excise men stationed along the coast to stop them. There was a strong incentive to continue since the cost of buying brandy legally, with Alcohol Duty paid, was five times greater than the cost of the contraband.  It was often the case that even the judiciary, doctors… Read more

It only comes around once a year so Father’s Day is the perfect occasion to say “Thanks Dad” and spoil him with something really special. We have a vast range of the very best vintage brandies from which you can choose.  Each one shows how much you care. To make your choice a little easier we have selected three to offer at a reduced price during June 2017.  Each will be the perfect gift on Sunday 18th June so take a look now. Our selection comprises a delicate yet complex, rare, vintage cognac from 1979; a fruity, well-balanced armagnac distilled… Read more

We are delighted to announce that in the 2017 Cognac Masters our two single vintage cognacs both won Gold Medals. Hermitage 1967 Petite Champagne Cognac is complex with many charming qualities. Mature, yet youthful and light, it is a little bit of Hermitage bliss. Hermitage 1987 Grande Champagne Cognac is also wonderfully complex with flavours of wild fruits and roasted nuts, enhanced by its slightly higher strength of 47% abv. A limited number of each are on offer during the month of May 2017 so, if you want to try award-winning cognacs that are fabulously different, now’s your chance.  And if you’ve… Read more

During the war years the Cognaçais were required to provide the Germans with large quantities of brandy. They cheated of course by shipping spirits made from root vegetables thus maintaining their stocks of real cognac. It was during this period that Maurice Hennessy and a well known grower, Pierre Verneuil, followed the example of the growers in the Champagne region and created the wine and eaux-de-vie distribution bureau to preserve the cognac stock. When the war ended this organisation emerged as the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC), cognac’s governing body.  Composed equally of growers and merchants, the BNIC acquired a great… Read more

The 31st of March in the Cognac region (also known as The Charente) is the last day in the year when cognacs may be distilled from the wines produced from the previous grape harvest. Most will have been distilled in the last part of 2016 but larger vineyards will have continued distilling through to this year. On the 1st of April, all the cognacs from the 2016 harvest will move from age ‘compte 00’ to ‘compte 0’. In one year’s time, they will become ‘compte 1’ and a year after that ‘compte 2’ etc.. The 2016 harvest was good and… Read more

The Cesium Thought Leadership (CTL) panel met recently to discuss the role industry bodies play in shaping the drinks industry. They concluded that these bodies have 4 areas of influence: education, interdependency, unified thinking and lobbying. The regulatory body for cognac is the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC) whose mission is ‘to develop and promote cognac, representing the best interests of all cognac professionals including growers, merchants and members of other activities related to the cognac trade’. They control all stages of cognac production including the regulations required to manage the growing, wine making, distillation and ageing. Over the… Read more

An EU Commission report has been welcomed by the drinks industry as, 2 years after MEPs voted for compulsory calorie labelling on alcoholic drinks, they have called upon the drinks trade to present a self-regulatory solution. Within 12 months calorie and nutritional information must be available to alcohol consumers – a ruling that came into effect for all other food and beverages in 2011.  Will cognac labelling have to change?  Aware that label space is an issue, the WSTA is suggesting that hosting the information on-line rather than on-pack will be the most effective solution. It has offered alcohol calorie… Read more

David McAninch has written this highly entertaining book about Gascony – “France’s Last Best Place” after an 8 month stay in the region. With interesting quotes such as “the quantity of armagnac produced in any given year is equivalent to the angel’s share—the volume of spirit lost to evaporation—of a year’s production of cognac” and “armagnac is to cognac what the Rolling Stones were to the Beatles” it makes fascinating reading for all fans of the amber nectar. Originally sent to research a story about a duck, his love of the local inhabitants and duck-rich cuisine led him to realise… Read more