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Crisis in Cognac – Not Enough Cognac for Customers Orders

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Cognac distributors in China are failing to obtain sufficient stocks to fulfill demand. Many producers in Cognac are under pressure to supply valuable stocks to major negoçiants for blending in VSOP, XO blends. The shortage of supply is forcing prices up and leading to higher costs of new cognacs. Thousands of distillers all over the region are being asked to supply even younger cognacs for blending with inevitable loss of quality. Industry body the Bureau National Interprofessionel du Cognac (BNIC) said more than five bottles were sold every second in 2011, the total number of bottles sold rose by 6.4% to 162.9 million.

The Far East, which accounted for more than one-third of demand, was the biggest and fastest-growing market, with volumes up 14.4%. Sales in China alone rose by 20%, the BNIC figures reveal. Growth in Europe was more modest, with the region’s volume sales edging up by 0.4% to 46.9m bottles, while demand in North America rose 3.2% to 50.8m bottles.

Speaking to Reuters, Rémy Cointreau chief executive Jean-Marie Laborde spoke of his optimism for the coming year and his belief that the recovering US market coupled with the rapid growth in Asia will help counteract the continuing economic struggles in Europe. Laborde said that sales in the October-December period in particular had exceeded expectations, mainly due to increased Cognac shipments ahead of the Chinese New year. Is big brand optimism good for cognac? Certainly not for quality!

Profits going up again for the big houses

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Luxury goods giant LVMH reported a 1% rise in net profit this week as the company continues to show strong growth despite economic uncertainty in Europe. The groups net profit topped €3 billion, as sales jumped 16% last year, driven mainly by strong spending in Asia. The groups Chief Executive, Bernard Arnaud said growth was much the same as the previous year and he is expecting next year to grow yet again.

Remy Martin are also expecting a big jump in profits 18%) as indeed are those of Pernod Ricard, owners of the Martell brand. The big four Cognac houses are anticipating further growth as a result of continued strong sales in the Asian markets. It is expected that sales volumes will greatly increase in 2012.

Boost for UK Venues as Customers go out More Often

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People are starting to frequent bars, clubs and restaurants in the UK increasingly more, often leaving the on-trade well placed to capitalise on “austerity fatigue”, according to new figures.

The Zolfo Cooper Leisure Wallet report, the biannual barometer of the Leisure industry, revealed that the frequency of visits to leisure establishments has increased despite average spend-per-visit continuing to drop. The increase is seen across the board, the first time any increase has been seen in the three main areas of leisure spending examined by the leisure Wallet since launching in summer 2010. However the spend per visit continues to drop in line with falling incomes across the country.

Over the year the national average household income across a sample of 3,000 consumers fell by £640 to £30,584. In total 48% of those interviewed said that their disposable income had decreased, while just 6% reported an increase. Despite this, visits are on the rise, suggesting a behavioral shift and recognition by consumers that if they spread their leisure spend; they can start going out more.

Over the last year drinkers have increased their visits to pubs and bars by to an average of 4.6 visits a month from 4.3 a month in summer 2011 and visits are even up on the 4.5 visits at the same time last year. However the current National spend per visit is now £14.69, a drop of 2.6% from the last report and 9.5% last year when the figure was £16.24.

Russians are selling Cognac Jenssen after 7 years

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The Jenssen cognac brand was created in 2000 by a Norwegian investor who later sold it to the Russian wine and spirit group MMVZ in 2005.

The firm has failed to show a profit and has been the subject of much controversy when it was discovered that Andrei Borodin, the ex president of the Bank of Moscow, was declared the real owner of the Business – he had been involved in many banking scandals.

The estate consists of around 20 hectares (50 acres), with a distillery and a large house with a swimming pool. Espen Soland, who was in charge of the domaine has returned to Norway and since then a Ms Aline Duverger has been in charge but has been unavailable to comment on the business and sale.

The Bottle Story – C by Courvoisier

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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!

The Cognac Process: Part 1.2 – In the Beginning

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In the latter half of the 17th Century the fashion conscious world of Restoration London, like so many others before and since, lived largely in public. The “café” society congregating in the capital’s coffee houses experimented with a whole host of new drinks.

Some, like tea, coffee and chocolate were non-alcoholic. Most were wines; claret, port, sherry, more or less fortified to withstand the journey to Britain (and to accord with the English taste for robust liquors). Only one, from Cognac, a small town in Western France was a spirit.

Since then cognac has never looked back. From newspaper advertisements at the turn of the 18th Century, we can measure by the “conìac” prices at which they were offered, that brandies from Cognac were worth more than 10% than those from Nantes or Bordeaux. The reasons for cognac’s dominance, then as now were geological, geographical and historic.

Even today, it is a relatively small town on the Charente of some 20,000 inhabitants. In the 17th Century, before the town bust its medieval walls, it held only 5,000.

The Cognac Process – Part 1.1 Five Hundred years of History

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Although the history of cognac probably goes back 500 years it has been universally recognised as the finest of all the hundreds of spirits distilled from grapes. For the sheer depth and intensity, fruitiness, subtlety of bouquet, warmth and complexity of flavour and length of time for which the flavour lingers on the palate, cognac remains incomparable.

The ability to extract so much of the essential flavour from the grape is no accident. It involves possessing the right soil and climate, choosing the right grape varieties, using the appropriate distillation process and then enhancing the inherent quality through long storage in the right kind and size of wooden cask in damp and dark cellars, often for decades. Yet even this complicated formula would not have sufficed if the Cognaçais (ironically a culturally introverted breed, their qualities epitomized by their nickname cagouillards, snails) had not been prepared to exploit their historic access to markets that appreciate the fine and by definition, expensive spirit they produce.

The Bottle Story – Sylvelune Cognacs

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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.

Hermitage News

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The Cognac Masters, held every November has become to us something of a ritual since, Hermitage Cognacs have enjoyed very great success over the years at the competition.

Many of you will know that this year we won three Masters Medals, as well as the Cognac Grand Master for the sheer quality of our cognacs. One of the three medals went to the Hermitage 1988 Grande Champagne from Ambleville, a light and delicate cognac with great style. This cognac will be made available from the 1st May. It is the very essence of quality and a worthy Masters winner.

Wine and Spirit Exhibitions set to expand

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The start of the year is always a flurry of high expectations in the drinks business with Exhibitions in Germany and Italy, followed in the UK by the London show at the Excel Centre in May and this year by Vinexpo the big trade show in Hong Kong.

Vinexpo changes every year between Bordeaux and Hong Kong, and this year it is sold out by more than 500 square metres. Indeed, Hong Kong is fast becoming the centre for Asian drink sales exhibitions with people travelling from all over Asia to visit and see the finest drinks available from the most luxurious alcoholic drink suppliers of fine wines and spirits.

The German exhibition, Prowine, is fast becoming recognised as one of the best shows, but Vinitaly in the beginning of April is also highly regarded. The Hong Kong Wines and Spirits Exhibition will wind up the year in early November, where again the Conference and Exhibition Centre is expected to be packed to the limits.

Brandyclassics will have a stand at the Hong Kong Wines and Spirits Exhibition in November, when we hope to greatly expand Chinese sales.