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Tag: pre-Phylloxera cognac

Massougnes Bonbonne 150 -200 Years Old

Posted / in Famous Cognac Houses, News and tagged , , , , ,

Massougnes Bonbonne

We have had this fabulous 150 -200 year old bonbonne for decades; it was given to us by The Comtesse de Bordelaise.  She is a direct descendant of the last French Royalty, King Louis VII and Eleanor of Aquitaine and has direct links with the British Royal Family.  Although frail, she still lives on the remains of the Massougnes Estate near Aigre.

Once large and famous, the Massougnes estate has diminished considerably in size but over the years we have bought a few bottles of fabulous, historic and rare Massougnes cognacs from the Comtesse.  She shared some of their story with us in a handwritten note, translated and summarised thus:

The Massougnes estate is about 400 years old and descendents of the original owner still live there.  In 1800, it comprised 180 hectares with 40 – 50 members of staff.  All was well until a terrible disease ‘Phylloxera’ destroyed the vines during the 1870s decade and most were never replanted.  Instead, the estate took to raising wheat, barley oats, cows and horses.  The old bottles of cognac were, however, well looked after.  Every ten years the closures (cork & wax) were changed so the cognac remained at its strength of 41% abv.  Thanks to this care the bottles of Massougnes cognac, harvested over 200 years ago, have been preserved in accordance with the family motto ‘All heart. All honour’. 

Truly, history in a bottle, or in this case a Massougnes Bonbonne.

Ultra-Premium Cognacs Are The Latest Collectibles

Posted in News and tagged , , , ,

Ultra-premiumRegular readers of our Blog will know that we have often compared the astronomical prices of aged and vintage whiskies to the far more modest cognac equivalents, but there are signs that this could be about to change.  Owen Bellwood, writing for The Spirits Business, has been investigating the latest trends in the cognac market and has published his findings here, on page 26.  Perhaps whisky is pricing itself out of the market, and collectors are looking further afield for their investments, but we have recently seen a rapid increase in the demand for ultra-premium pre-1900 cognacs.  This includes those that were produced in the pre-Phylloxera era and those that have been in cask for many decades.

We have been aware of the changing direction of the cognac market for a number of years and in part, it has given rise to our Hermitage Paradis Cognacs range.  The MD, David Baker, is quoted in The Spirits Business magazine on page 30 as believing that spirits produced by masters of their craft, in creative ways, can become some of the best examples available.  The vintage he cites is the Hermitage 1885 which is “out of this world”.

 

 

Pre-phylloxera & Vintage cognacs “showing considerable growth” according to industry expert

Posted / in News and tagged , ,

Fine wine brokers turn to spirits as Trump duty levies bite

PrePhylloxera DemandDavid Baker, Managing Director at Hermitage Cognacs, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of fine and rare cognacs, has noted a real upsurge in interest, demand and sales for Pre-phylloxera era cognacs.

Phylloxera, the aphid which devastated the vineyards of Europe – including its most famous regions of Bordeaux and Burgundy – from around 1863, led to vines being grafted onto American rootstocks which were resistant to it. There was considerable debate In the decades that followed and into the  20th Century as to whether quality of the wines produced after the vine-grafting was quite as high.

Brandies produced from Pre-phylloxera vines are increasingly rare and, according to Baker, becoming very sought after in recent years. The threat to exports of French wines, and single malt Scotch whiskies, to the US due to the US Government’s latest duty tariffs is also encouraging dealers and collectors to look for other liquids to buy.

“As well as our established market in single-estate cognacs of the late 20th and early 21st Centuries, we’re now seeing a real surge in demand for cognacs from the mid and early 20th century, even some from the nineteenth century and before the Phylloxera.  Many merchants are worried about the impact of US duty on imports of champagne, wine and whisky into America, and are looking to other spirits to replace that. At the moment cognacs seem to have escaped the duty hikes. In Asia too, especially Singapore, we’re getting greater interest for the oldest Premier cru vintages.

Baker continues: “Many of the Pre-phylloxera cognacs we have supplied this year come from very old estates, some where cognac production may have ceased years ago. The interest and historic value they hold is driving demand, and we are having to scour the cellars of the region for more rare bottles.

“Moreover, modern cognacs are made on bigger stills where volume is important, some of the finest cognacs come from the last half of the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries where family producers had little pressure to produce high cognac volumes.”

Hermitage Cognacs have a great pedigree in supplying very old cognacs – just two years ago an 1805 Cognac Massougnes supplied by them sold through Hedonism Wines in London for over £220,000.

Find out more at hermitagecognac.com

Cognac Investment – The Time Is Now

Posted / in Brandy Bottle Reviews, Brandy Education, News and tagged , , ,

Cognac InvestmentCraft Vintage Cognacs are rare and finding them is a specialist business as they are unique, and the level of luxury sought is only found in a few of the very finest and oldest cognac firms.  Vintage Premier Cru cognacs are in extremely limited supply. Very good, award-winning cognacs are even more rare which is why Hermitage Premier Cru Vintages are not generally available in the wider volume markets. The secret is to find the cellars that still house some of the oldest and rarest nectars still in existence.  Many of them belong to families who have, for generations, been producing cognacs.  These cognacs have been allowed to gradually mature through the ages, masterpieces forgotten in time.  Each special vintage is highly valuable and sealed in glass to preserve its greatness and value for future generations – a superb cognac investment.

Today, increasing demand in the rapidly growing cognac market means that single estate vintages from the top crus are largely swallowed up into generic blends of indeterminate age and quality, their youthfulness obscured by syrups and caramel additives. Less is kept back by individual producers for the family cellars and much of that which is retained, is sold at a relatively early age.

Cognac investmentRecent sales of some rare vintages have only served to highlight the value of old vintage cognacs. Prices of more than £200k a bottle were achieved on two occasions and we have seen other mouth-watering prices being paid. But not only have the prices of early pre-Phylloxera cognacs increased, so have the prices of more recent vintages and well-aged cognacs of 60 – 80 years as their availability decreases.  It is clear to the experienced cognac specialist that availability of the older ages is on the decline with some of the ‘grand marques’ supplied by the big houses already using lower aged cognacs from lesser crus in their blends.  Over the last 5 – 10 years, we have also seen the prices of some well-known commercial cognacs double. Bottles of Remy Louis XIII, which doesn’t even have an age statement, sold for about £1200 six or seven years ago but can now fetch more than £2500.  Richard Hennessy sold with a trade price in 2017 of around £1500 sells today at £3500 again, it has no age statement.  Clearly this is working to the producers’ advantage as the cognac barrel ages are almost certainly in decline.

Premier cru cognacs from the Champagnes are slow in ageing and naturally aged cognacs from this area will take fifty or more years in cask to develop their natural qualities.  Some form of age statement will provide the clearest indication of quality, and therefore value, since age and value are inextricably linked.  It is little wonder that clients with larger disposable assets are now investing in these extremely rare, older vintage cognacs. The time to do this is now for we do not know how much longer will we continue to find these old ‘rancio’ brandies that have matured to a rich and valuable glory.

The Price of Cognac History

Posted / in History, News, The History of Cognac and tagged , ,

cognac historyM Restaurant has announced that it is to sell its bottle of 1894 cognac for over £6000 for a 25ml shot – that’s the price of cognac history.  The bottle is reputedly the first blend ever produced by Jean Fillioux, who founded the Fillioux cognac house.  Snippets of history such as this are often priceless in the cognac world.  Over the years we have sold many such historically important bottles to luxury hotels in London.  The ultimate in super-premium spirits, these too have been sold by the measure for thousands of pounds.  But to command this sort of price tag, each must have a story attached.  Many were produced in the pre-Phylloxera era (pre 1875), when cognac production was considerably different from today, and produced by old family firms that may no longer be in existence.  The vintage may also be attached to an event in history, such as the beginning of the French revolution in 1789, which adds to its interest and value.  Selling very old cognac is a proven way of increasing bar takings but beware, establishing authenticity is a specialist business; we have been undertaking it for decades.

Sniffer Dogs To Detect Phylloxera

Posted / in News, The History of Cognac and tagged

The Phylloxera louse decimated vineyards across Europe in the late 1800s by attacking the roots of the vines.  Many wine and cognac producers lost their livelihoods as a result.  Keeping vines Phylloxera free is therefore vital to the survival of the industry so this latest announcement from Melbourne University is extremely exciting.  Scientists are researching the effectiveness of sniffer dogs in detecting the existence of the louse in the initial stages.  Dogs already trained as ‘sniffers’ can easily be taught to detect other scents and it is hoped that this will extend to early stage Phylloxera at depths of up to a metre below soil level.  We have a number of Very Old Cognacs produced in the pre-Phylloxera era when Folle Blanche was the most commonly used vine.

Read more news from the cognac industry here.