1882 Cognac Bonbonne Sells for £90,000
Delighted to have sold our latest bonbonne of 1882 cognac to Hedonism Wines in Mayfair and, with an asking price of £90k, it was snapped up by one of their customers within 24 hours. Presented in a traditional wicker basket, the bonbonne contains 10 litres of Hermitage 1882 Grande Champagne Cognac.
The cognac would have been made in 300-litre stills and, although small, these were probably the only size that most producers could afford at the time. It would have been aged in bariques of around 250 litres, for more than 70 years. No reduction has taken place and so it is presented at its natural strength of 41% abv. The tannins from the wood have given this cognac deep and rich flavours of demerara sugar, plums and sweet orange peel with a delicious long rancio, the much favoured richness, so highly desirable in these fine old cognacs.
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Distilled in the late nineteenth century, 1882, this was the year when the first stone was laid for Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona and major European powers signed the first Geneva Convention, ratified by the US, who also legitimised the International Red Cross.
s’ is the French word for ‘paradise’ and in the cognac industry it is used to describe a designated area in the innermost recess of the cellar. Not every cognac house has a ‘Paradis’ but those that exist are steeped in history. Many cognac families select a few of their finest cognacs for storage in the Paradis. The point when a cognac has gained all the benefit it can from the wood depends on many factors but ultimately, it is when the cellar master decides that it has reached its optimum quality. At this stage the cognac is put into glass bonbonnes and sealed so that the generations of gentle maturation in the barrel are preserved. A cognac that has lasted in oak without deterioration for perhaps 60, 70, 80 or even 90 years is going to be good, very good and will have developed the much sought after 
amed our pre-1900 Hermitage Cognac range ‘
Our ever popular cognac house, Hermitage is set to expand its trading base to include the Far East. Already sold in many European countries, as well as to private buyers in the US, it is hoped that Singapore and Malaysia will be its next destinations. The