Here at Brandyclassics we have often spoken lovingly about the benefits of long ageing. It is a pre-requisite of very fine cognac and there is certainly no substitute that will enhance the flavour.

So how is it possible to create a new cognac, given that it needs so long to age in the barrel? We have discussed in these articles previously the need to find stocks produced from the right grapes, distilled in the right shaped and size stills, then aged for a long period in the right barrels. But this is only the start of the process to find the ideal cognac for our customers. It is also where our work begins!

Having identified suitable cognac producers we need to optimise the qualities – this is usually not possible with commercially distilled cognacs that have a high level of neutrality, thus our need for the smaller distillers whose families have centuries of experience. There are many factors that can change the flavour of a cognac. We may recommend changing the barrel size or where it is stored, which will affect the rate the spirit comes out of the barrel. We have been known to change the old barrels for new for a short period, or even recommend the use of wood chips to give more exposure to the wood. But probably identifying the right strength to sell the cognac at is the biggest factor and this is a process that can take years to perfect before you, the cognac lover, taste it.

Brandyclassics sell an exclusive range of Hermitage Cognacs. Hermitage Cognacs are the result of very specific distillation qualities and long, careful ageing in oak casks. They never include additives such as sugar or caramel, and are the very finest cognacs available in the world today. Ranging in price from around £30 to over £1000 per bottle, we have a cognac for every palate and pocket, a small selection of which are shown below.

Spanish Brandy has a longer history than cognac; it is more varied and in some ways more intriguing. Most Spanish Brandy should be called Brandy de Jerez because they are distilled and sold by the firms that make sherry. Brandy making in Spain goes back to the early Middle Ages when the Moors occupied southern Spain and Jerez. As its full name “de la Fontera” suggests, it was on the frontier between Christendom and the then more civilised Moorish Kingdom of Granada.

The Brandy making tradition disappeared until the arrival of the Dutch, in the late 17^th century, came looking for brandy for their sailors as they had earlier in Cognac. The locals then developed what they called holandas, still the name used in Jerez for brandy, distilled to the same 70 per cent alcohol as cognac.

The next impetus came when Cognac was invaded by the phylloxera vastatrix louse in the late 19^th century. It was Brandy de Jerez that filled the gap for a couple of decades, until Jerez was also hit by the bug. Probably the largest boom was triggered by the demand from soldiers on both sides, during the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s. Spain’s post war industrialisation then carried on the good work, by creating a demand from industrial workers looking for inner warmth and by better heeled customers wanting a civilised spirit. The drink was kept afloat until the 1980’s when duties soared and Spanish drinking habits changed.

The geology of the cognac producing region is the single most important factor in the success of the famous drink. The spirits success rests solidly on chalk – a very special sort of chalk known as Campanian chalk, named after the Latin original of the word. This became known as Champagne and exists under most of the Grande Champagne area.

There are two other chalk varieties which are defined mainly by their porosity. Santonian, named after the general cognac region of Saintonge is found mainly to the south of Cognac. Coniacian chalk is found around the town of Cognac. The physical composition of the chalk is almost as important as the geological make-up. It should be friable and not too compacted, so that the vine roots can penetrate through to the underground streams.

Perhaps a confusing factor is that the boundaries were decided by administrators not geologists, so they include the clay bed of the Charente river and the banks of the Né to the south. Perhaps the biggest problem the Cognacais have, is the use of the word champagne, which was stolen by the wine makers 500 miles north east and who use it for the name of their fizzy wine, which also grows on chalk slopes similar to those around Cognac…

Brandyclassics’s online store sells a wide selection of Grande Champagne cognacs, Petite Champagne Cognacs and a exclusive selection of Fine Champagne Cognacs. Cognacs from these crus include some of the most famous cognac houses such as A.E. Dor, Hine, Prunier, Raymond Ragnaud, A Hardy, as well as our own Hermitage cognac range.

Professor Louis Ravaz was the young professor who established the Station Viticole in Cognac and did much to re-establish the new vines after the Phylloxera around 1890, his definition of the Charente terroir is usefully described thus:

“The same variety of grape can be grown anywhere and in the same way as in the Charente: distillation can be carried out anywhere else as at Cognac and in the same stills; the brandy can be stored in identical casks as those we employ in the region; it can be cared for as well or maybe even better. But the same combination of weather and terrain cannot be found anywhere else. As far as the soil is concerned, it is not enough that it should belong to the same geological formations, it must have the same physical and chemical composition, and no one has ever found such a duplicate. In addition the climate of the region must be identical to that of the Charente and that is almost inconceivable. There is therefore very little chance that all the elements which influence the nature of the product should be found together in any region apart from the Charente; and thus no other region can produce cognac”

He went on to say,

“All the trials which have been made all over the place to produce cognac with the same varieties and the Charentais methods have resulted only in failure”.

What he described then is still the case today…

Brandyclassics sell a number of cognacs from Houses in the Charente region, including a number of Pineaus and our very rare pre-phylloxera Sezerac de Forge Vintage 1805 cognac.

The Ugni Blanc is the main grape variety planted in the Cognac region. More than 95% of all cognacs are made from this plain and rather tasteless variety, which was first planted after the Phylloxera around 1890.

The variety triumphed and was a huge success, producing weak acidic wines in large volumes. The grape is probably better known to winemakers, especially in Italy as the Trebbiano Toscano from the hills of the Emilia Romagna near Piacenza. It is now so widespread that, according to Jancis Robinson, it probably produces more wine than any other variety. In France it is the most widely planted vine, helped by more than 100,000 hectares devoted to it in the Charente.

Its popularity is in marked contrast to its qualities. These are summed up crisply and accurately by Jancis Robinson: Pale lemon, little nose, notably high acid, medium alcohol and body. It is a very characterless wine indeed. As a vine it’s twin virtues are the tenacity (it keeps its acid right up to late ripening) and of course it’s extraordinary high yields. These two qualities make it an ideal variety for providing a suitably neutral, suitably acid base wine for cognac. One last advantage is the grape bunch – its shape allows air to circulate thus minimising rot.

Most cognacs and armagnacs for sale on the Brandyclassics website contain additional information including the Viticulture, Grape Variety and Flavour about the bottle. Some typical products are shown below.