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Tag: Hermitage Cognacs

Hermitage Pre 1900 Cognacs

Posted / in Brandy Bottle Reviews, News, News from the Brandy Houses and tagged , , , ,

Provenance

There are hundreds of small cognac houses, most sell their young brandies to the big houses, but a few keep their special treasures tucked away for those who appreciate the golden nectar. 

Hermitage Cognac Limited has, for decades, sourced cognacs from the very finest producers in the Premier Cru of cognac, known as Grande Champagne.  Perhaps because of our exposure to many small family creators of fine brandies, we occasionally find cognacs hidden away in family cellars, often referred to as ‘Paradis’.   These innermost chambers house small batches of cognac in glass bonbonnes and sometimes contain cognacs that were made more than one hundred years ago.  These cognacs may have lived in their barrels for decades, and some, because of how they were made and aged, will be the perfect nectars that we are proud to call Hermitage.

Old cognacs are rare, and cognacs made before 1900 are exceptionally rare.  Cognacs are produced in France.  Nowhere else in the world is allowed to call their brandy ‘cognac’. The available quantity of cognac made before 1900 is miniscule and consequently, the value of these old vintages is increasing. We do not know how many more old and desirable cognacs we will find. But what we do know is that when they are all sold, the value of those still in circulation will rise alarmingly.

Hermitage pre 1900 Cognacs

Vintage Cognac Values

During the 1990s individual bottles of vintage cognac, from as early as 1790, were available in the marketplace for between £1500 to £2000.  Cognacs from 1800 – 1860 could be purchased for between £1200 – £1700.

By 2015, very early bottles from before 1800, were being sold for £27,000 and cognacs from 1800 to 1860 for £12,000 to £19,000.

Within the last 5 years, two imperial three quarter gallon bottles of Massougnes, which in 2000 sold for £7000, sold in London for £246,000 each.

The acceleration of cognac values since 2015 leaves us in little doubt that by the end of the decade, prices will have doubled again.

Our Offering

In addition to purchasing our Hermitage Pre 1900 Cognacs in bottles, we also offer the range in glass bonbonnes.  Each vintage can be purchased in either 10 litre or 30 litre bonbonnes.

Our Latest 2004 Vintage Cognac

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2004 Vintage Cognac

We always like to introduce new vintages into our Hermitage Cognac range. The MD spends many hours visiting some of the many distillers, usually situated in Grande Champagne, looking for our next cognac masterpiece. Our latest find is a 2004 Vintage Cognac and for a cognac that is not yet 20 years old, it is sensational.

This Hermitage 2004 Grande Champagne Cognac comes from the gentle slopes around the town of Segonzac, in the centre of the premier cru.  A truly amazing cognac it has a complexity of flavours that would enhance many, much older spirits.

Aromas of cocoa, walnuts, dark toffee and truffle are followed by the rich and complex charecteristic flavours of the Hermitage style. These include dark toffee and cocoa which are followed by delicious bouts of clove, almond, damson and candied fruits.

Retailing at just under £130, this would make a magnificent present for the cognac lover in your life!

Hermitage Cognacs Offer Excellent Value

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cognacs offer excellent value

In the latest edition of ‘The Spirits Business’ we read that “Despite global inflation causing the price of spirits to rise, research shows that consumers are still more willing to purchase higher end products ….. Specifically Cognac, which remains the most expensive category of all spirits, is up by 132%”. Hermitage Cognacs has always been positioned at the very top end of the category but how does it compare to the competition? Many high end cognacs are sold in fancy presentations, often made from embellished crystal, and sold as rare, limited editions. But what about the liquid inside? The cognac may come from the top cru, Grande Champagne, but no information is given about the age of the cognac in the barrel or whether it comes from a particular vintage. One must conclude it is a blend of cognacs that are slightly different from previously released ones. Rarity always comes at a cost but prices in excess of £40,000 seem astounding.

Let’s make some comparisons with the Hermitage range. Our vintages come from 1 or 2 barrels of cognac that were distilled in a particular year and have never been blended. They can often be likened to the well known phrase used in whisky circles, ‘Single Cask’. Also, by definition, they are limited editions as once the vintage has been drunk it can never be replaced. For example, we sell a top cru vintage from 1923, where the grapes were harvested 100 years ago. It was left untouched and aged in a cellar for about 70 years before bottling at 43% abv. Although presented in a traditional cognac bottle, it is a huge contrast in quality and price. This Hermitage 1923 Grande Champagne Cognac retails for just under £2100.

If it is the quality of the presentation that attracts you, do take a look at our Hermitage Marie Louise Cognac. The cognac has been aged in oak barrels for 70 years and is sold by the litre, rather than 70cl. It is presented in crystal decanters produced by Cumbria Crystal, the last producer of completely hand-blown and hand-cut, full-lead luxury English crystal in the UK and retails at £2220. We have to conclude that Hermitage Cognacs offer excellent value in the premium cognac market.

New 60 Year Old Cognac From Hermitage

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We are delighted to announce that we have a new Hermitage 60 Year Old Grande Champagne Cognac on our shelves. It is the third cognac of this ageing to have made it into the Hermitage range. The previous two were great successes and all the stock available sold out. It has not been easy finding a suitable 60 Year Old Cognac replacement, though. David rejected many before finding this superb example of a top cru cognac, aged to perfection in oak barrels, for at least 60 years.

Its long ageing in wood has given such a depth of flavour and smoothness that it has been bottled at the slightly higher strength of 47% abv. This incredible cognac has been aged in damp cellars in the Premier Cru of cognac.  Aromas and flavours of plum, dark chocolate, liquorice, spices, toffee, almonds and dried fruits enhance this rich and beautifully matured cognac.  A long and glorious tail of citrus fruits, almonds and Marsala wine only add to the long complexity of flavours.

A perfect treat for the cognac connoisseur or as a 60th Birthday Gift.

Hermitage Cognac Marie Louise is 70 Years Old

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Hermitage Cognac Marie Louise is a Grande Champagne cognac from one of the region’s top artisan producers. Still in cask, it is now a magnificent 70 years old.

Some of the finest cognacs ever made were produced in the early twentieth century as, by this time, knowledge of distillation and the ageing process had been significantly refined. Cognac Marie Louise is one of the few remaining cognacs produced during this period. It is from the top cru, Grande Champagne and has matured for more than 70 years in oak casks.

This truly great cognac is named after Marie Louise, the second wife of Napoleon Boneparte. She bore his son who was given the title ‘Roi de Rome’ and who later became Napoleon II.

One litre of this glorious cognac is offered in crystal decanters produced by Cumbria Crystal, the last producer of completely hand-blown and hand-cut, full-lead luxury English crystal in the UK.

The complex aromas, intensity and depth of flavours created by its careful distillation and ageing have created a masterpiece of smoothness. The initial sensation is akin to lining one’s mouth with velvet. The rich and complex flavours of coffee, sultanas, toffee brittle, truffle, dried fig, cinnamon, hazelnut and clove are all wrapped up in an intensely rich rancio found only in the rarest of cognacs.

Only a few people will be privileged to taste this exceptional and rare cognac. Those that do will be delighted by the charm and elegance of Hermitage Cognac Marie Louise, made all those years ago.

“Likely to be one of the finest cognacs you have tasted.”  Victoria Moore, The Saturday Telegraph Luxury Supplement

National Cognac Day Sunday 4th June 2023

Posted in Brandy Education, Learning about Brandy, News and tagged , , ,

National Cognac DayWe love to celebrate National Cognac Day!  This year it’s on Sunday 4th June so if you have a bottle you keep for special occasions or fancy trying something new for the first time, this is time to do it!

Cognac, which originates from a town of the same name in France, is a type of brandy, the generic name for spirits that have been made from fruit.  It begins life as a white wine, that has been produced in one of six designated growing regions, and is then distilled in an alembic still and aged in oak casks for years.

Cognac’s production is a science and indeed an art.  If the drink is new to you, here are some handy links to find out more about it:

The other very important factor you need to know is that most cognacs are blended.  This is essential to produce large quantities of a product, that always tastes the same.

But, here at Hermitage we do it differently.  Our cognacs are not blended, they come from Single Estates and each one has unique and identifiable flavours.  So, if you really want to try something new, Hermitage is the place to go.  Each bottle will tell you how many years the cognac has been in the barrel and if it’s a vintage, the year the grapes were harvested.  Enjoy!!

Hermitage Paradis 1875 Cognac

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1875 cognacWe are very excited to introduce a new cognac to our shelves, and our Hermitage Paradis range, the 1875 vintage.  Only a few bottles remain of this old 1875 cognac which originally came from a cellar near Bouteville, in the cru now known as Grande Champagne.  It was distilled on a very small still and then aged for more than 75 years in a cellar built against a limestone cutting.  The cellar floor and walls were natural, with no cement or concrete, which made it ideal for ageing old cognacs.

The production of cognacs in the 18th and 19th centuries was a way of farming the land that growers owned. At the time these cognacs were made, there were perhaps more than 1500 different growers in the region, each making their wines, distilling them and putting them into cellars to age in oak casks. The skills employed had been handed down from generations before them.  Not every brandy which the growers produced was of a quality that stood out as being truly exceptional but now and again a cognac would be sufficiently good to be kept to one side and stored for the future. The year that the cognac was made was always recorded with a chalk mark on the barrel.

 

We understand that this cognac was removed from cask and placed in bonbonnes between 1950 and 1955, making it 75 – 80 years old.  Our tasting notes confirm that the cognac has developed a significant rancio consistent with very long cask ageing.  Specific tasting notes can be found here.

The Drinks Business – Boutique Cognac Houses

Posted in Brandy Bottle Reviews, Famous Cognac Houses, News, News from the Brandy Houses and tagged , , ,

Boutique Cognac HousesRichard Woodward writing in The Drinks Business last week, about Boutique Cognac Houses, names Hermitage Cognac as an independent bottler focused on the highest quality:

“Cognac has close to 80,000 hectares of vineyard … cultivated by some 4,000 growers …  . Twenty years ago, there were 8,000 vignerons in Cognac, illustrating a growing professionalism as small landowners exit the industry.

That picture of consolidation extends to brand owners, with Cognac’s “big four” – Hennessy, Martell, Rémy Martin and Courvoisier – accounting for more than 80% of global consumption. That leaves little space for smaller operations, but a number of boutique houses still carve out a niche for themselves, pitching their artisanal credentials against the might of that dominant quartet.

Most growers sell the vast majority of their production to big houses, but many still bottle their own Cognac as well. The best of these are the hidden gems of the region – growers such as Château Montifaud, Jean Fillioux and Michel Forgeron, or David Baker’s Hermitage Cognacs – an independent bottler focused on the highest quality.”

Read the complete article here.

New National Accounts Manager – Freddie Lawrence

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Freddie

We are delighted to welcome Freddie Lawrence as the new National Accounts Manager of our trade arm, Bunch & Bushel. 

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Freddie has been working in hospitality for over thirteen years, ten of which have been spent selling premium & ultra-premium brands into the UK on and off trade.

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Having just finished his induction at our Headquarters in Wiltshire and French Company in Segonzac, he is really looking forward to seeing all our loyal trade customers and meeting new ones, to introduce them to our Hermitage Cognacs and other premium craft spirits.

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In his spare time Freddie enjoys socialising with family and friends and sampling fine cuisine.  His latest claim to fame is being on the group backing vocals of George Ezra’s latest single, Green, Green Grass!

Spirits Business Top Ten Award-Winning Cognacs

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award-winning CognacsThe Spirits Business have just announced their top 10 award-winning cognacs and Hermitage appear in the list three times with their 10 Year Old, 1975 and 1972.  Spirits Business comments are thus:

For those looking for a single estate Cognac to spend a relaxing evening with, the Hermitage 10 Year Old Grande Champagne Cognac is the one to opt for, according to judge Bryan Rodriguez, wine and spirits buyer at Harvey Nichols.  He said: “I thought this was fabulous. I can see myself putting it into a balloon glass and just nosing it, and relaxing for half an hour.”  Having been double distilled on a small Charentais Alembic still to help concentrate the wine flavours during distillation, it offers notes of spice and coffee with a gentle underlying hint of pineapple.

Both of the Masters medals awarded in the Vintage Single Estate category went to Hermitage, the first for its 1972 Petite Champagne Cognac and the second for its 1975 Grande Champagne Cognac expression.  Having both spent close to four decades ageing in Limousin oak casks, the judges were impressed with the 1975’s “roasted walnut and chocolate whip aroma” and “magnificent” palate, while its 1972 Petite Champagne Cognac was celebrated for its “well rounded combination of fruit, sweetness and spice.”

Read the full article here.