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Hermitage Siècle d’Or 100 Year Old Cognac: A Century of Mastery

The Hermitage Siècle d’Or 100 Year Old Cognac stands as an extraordinary testament to the art of cognac making, having spent a century maturing in oak barrels deep within the cellars of Grande Champagne. This exceptional release offers collectors and connoisseurs a rare opportunity to experience history in a glass, embodying a level of craftsmanship that few have the privilege to taste. Unearthed from a venerable estate dating back to the 1880s, the Siècle d’Or, or “Century of Gold,” encapsulates the highest standards of distillation and ageing, carried through generations of expertise. From its terroir in Lignières Sonneville, this rare nectar is made from the finest Ugni Blanc grapes, distilled on traditional Alembic Charentais stills and aged in Segonzac, where it has developed the prized ‘rancio’ qualities that are so sought after by cognac aficionados.

Aged for an incredible 100 years, the Hermitage Siècle d’Or 100 Year Old Cognac possesses a level of complexity that few spirits can match. Its bouquet is an intricate weave of cocoa, dried fig, burnt sugar, truffle, and cloves, each element matured to perfection over the course of a century. On the palate, these aromas evolve into an extraordinary symphony of flavours: rich notes of cocoa and burnt toffee give way to a deep ginger spice, earthy mushroom, and the sweetness of candied fruit. The finish is both long and memorable, with a distinct kumquat flavour that lingers on the tongue, leaving an indelible impression of its Grande Champagne heritage. The balance and depth of this cognac are unrivalled, a reflection of the patience and mastery involved in its creation.

For the cognac collector, the Hermitage Siècle d’Or 100 Year Old Cognac is nothing short of a masterpiece. Its rarity alone makes it a prized possession; only a handful of cognacs have been aged for a century, and even fewer have retained the quality and integrity that this one exhibits. Encased in a stunning hand-blown crystal decanter, crafted by the renowned Cumbria Crystal artisans, each bottle is a work of art in itself. The gold-leaf engraving on the decanter further enhances its status as a collector’s item, presenting a bottle that is as beautiful as the cognac it holds. Whether displayed in a private collection or kept as an heirloom to pass through generations, the Siècle d’Or offers more than just a tasting experience—it offers a legacy.

This release is also the perfect gift for those who appreciate the finer things in life. With only 68 decanters available worldwide, gifting one of these limited-edition decanters, is akin to presenting a piece of history. The meticulous craftsmanship of both the cognac and its decanter makes it an exceptional choice for significant milestones or as a gesture of the highest regard. Whether for a discerning connoisseur or as a statement piece for an extraordinary occasion, this 100 year old cognac represents the pinnacle of luxury.

To gift the Hermitage Siècle d’Or 100 Year Old Cognac is to bestow an experience of unparalleled sophistication, one that will be cherished and remembered for years to come.

Celebrate National Brandied Fruit Day with Hermitage 10 Year Old Cognac

National Brandied Fruit Day is coming up on 20 October and it’s the perfect opportunity to indulge in rich, spiced flavours that pair beautifully with Cognac. Brandied fruits are typically soaked in brandy, creating a decadent infusion of sweetness and warmth, often used in traditional recipes like fruit cake. This year, why not elevate your celebration with the Hermitage 10-Year-Old Grande Champagne Cognac?

Its complex layers of dried fruit, spices, and floral notes complement the richness of brandied fruit cake, making it the ideal pairing or addition to your recipe.

The Hermitage 10-Year-Old Cognac is aged in fine oak barrels, giving it a smooth, rounded finish that balances the sweetness of the cake while enhancing its flavours. With notes of vanilla, apricot, and a touch of honey, this Cognac pairs perfectly with the dried fruits and spices in a brandied fruit cake, bringing out the best in each bite.

Recipe for Brandied Fruit Cake with Hermitage 10 Year Old Cognac

Ingredients:

  • 500g mixed dried fruits (raisins, currants, sultanas, cherries)
  • 150ml Hermitage 10 Year Old Grande Champagne Cognac
  • 200g unsalted butter
  • 200g dark brown sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 250g plain flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp ground nutmeg
  • Zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon
  • 100g chopped nuts (optional)

Method:

  1. Soak the fruits: In a bowl, combine the mixed dried fruits with 100ml of the Hermitage 10 Year Old Grande Champagne Cognac
  2. Cover and leave to soak overnight, allowing the fruits to absorb the Cognac’s rich flavours.
  3. Prepare the cake: Preheat your oven to 150°C (fan 130°C). Grease and line a deep 20cm cake tin. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
  4. Add dry ingredients: Sift in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Fold in gently until well combined. Stir in the soaked fruits, zest, and nuts (if using).
  5. Bake: Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the top. Bake for 2-2.5 hours or until a skewer comes out clean.
  6. Finish with Cognac: Once baked, allow the cake to cool slightly. Using a skewer, pierce the top of the cake and drizzle with the remaining 50ml of Hermitage 10 Year Old Cognac for an extra layer of indulgence.

Serve this delicious brandied fruit cake with a glass of Hermitage 10 Year Old Grande Champagne Cognac to enhance the warming, spiced notes in both the cake and the spirit.

Enjoy the perfect pairing for National Brandied Fruit Day, and make your dessert experience truly luxurious with the finest Cognac.

Massougnes Bonbonne 150 -200 Years Old

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.

Hermitage Pre 1900 Cognacs

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.

Bonbonne of 1889 Cognac Sells for £68K

1889 CognacA very exciting Christmas present for someone perhaps?  This 8 litre bonbonne of Hermitage 1889 Paradis Cognac was sold last week, the asking price was £68,300.  A one-off presentation of this superb 1889 cognac is a very rare offering by Hermitage Cognacs and was snapped up at Hedonism Wines in Mayfair.

It was distilled in the late nineteenth century (1889) when Exposition Universelle (World’s Fair) in Paris opened with the recently completed Eiffel Tower serving as the entrance arch.  At 300m high it retained the record for the tallest man-made structure for 41 years.

The cognac comes from the southeast part of the region, now known as Grande Champagne, around the charming little village of Bouteville.  It was made on a small wood fired still and is a glorious example of some of the finest Premier Cru craftmanship of the era, when the understanding of cognac production methods was at its best.  Aged for more than 70 years in oak casks, which has optimized its key qualities of balance and rancio, this cognac is completely natural, with no reduction.  Such a long time in wood has produced an even distribution of flavours including cocoa, walnut kernels and coffee with a final and delicious long rancio, the much favoured richness, so highly desirable in these fine old cognacs.

 

Hermitage 1900 Cognac Gift Set, Ideal For Christmas

1900 CognacHow many people can claim to have tasted a cognac distilled at the turn of the last century?  Well, this is your chance!  Our extra special Gift Set comprises a 20Cl bottle of 1900 cognac from the top cru and one of our exclusive Hermitage Cognacs tulip-shaped tasting glasses.  The Hermitage 1900 Grande Champagne was found in an old cellar, the owners of which ceased making cognac many years ago, so it really was a rare and exclusive find.

Although presented at the higher strength of 47.5 % abv, its long ageing in oak barrels has produced an exceptionally well-balanced cognac.  A hint of tobacco with almond, medlar, mangosteen and dry spice aromas lead to a powerful attack on the palate of dry fruit and spices.   There are also many other complex flavours being experienced at the same time including green walnuts, mangosteen, mace and cucumber.

 

This really is a once in a lifetime experience!

Hermitage Paradis 1875 Cognac

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.

Brandyclassics’ Massougnes 1802 Cognac Re-emerges At Auction

Massougnes 1802We were delighted to welcome Paddy Shave from Brightwells Auction House to our offices a few weeks ago.  He brought with him an imperial half gallon (2.27 litres) bottle of Massougnes 1802 Cognac which had passed through our hands almost thirty years ago.  We are fortunate to have acquired a number of these large bottles over the years from the owner of the Massougnes Estate, the Comtesse de la Bourdeliere, Marie-Antoinette Pintaurd des Allees – a direct descendant of Henry II and Eleanor of Acquitaine.  This particular bottle from 1802 in the Napoleonic era, was originally sold by us to the Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland, where is was on display for many years.  Still unopened, it was fascinating to see it turn up for sale once more and although the estimated price of £100,000+ was not reached, it still sold for an impressive £52,000.  We have sold one or two of these oversized bottles of Massougnes over the years (vintages range from 1800 to 1812) and still have two for sale on our website.  For those who may wish to try before they buy, one of our Massougnes vintages is still being sold by the measure at The Lanesbrough Hotel in London.

 

Ultra-Premium Cognacs Are The Latest Collectibles

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”.

 

 

Shipwrecked Cognac – 100 Years On

shipwreckedIn 1917, SS Kyros set sail for St Petersburg from France.  As it approached Sweden, the cargo ship was sunk by a German submarine UC58.  For decades the ship was assumed lost but in 1999 it was discovered 77 metres below sea level having been damaged by fishing trawlers and trawl boards.  It took 20 years to clear the shipwrecked vessel for exploration, but it was worth the wait as hidden inside were 50 cases of cognac from De Haartman & Co.  An exciting and historical find from the time when Tsar Nicholas II was Emperor of Russia.  It is difficult to estimate the current condition of the cognac as this will, in part, be dependent on the bottle seals (see this month’s Technical Topic).  Interestingly, some bottles of 1890 champagne, which had spent over a century buried in wet chalk underground after a landslide, were recently opened.  At the tasting they were deemed “still pleasant to drink” so maybe there is some hope for the turn-of-the-century cognac yet?