The age, or rather the quality, of Cognac is always
reflected in its label. VS, and *** Cognacs must be no less that 2.5 years old; V.O. (Very
Old), V.S.O.P. (Very Superior Old Pale) and Réserve, between four and half and six and
half years old; X.O (eXtra Old), Vielle Réserve, Extra, Hors d'âge and Napoléon, six
and half years, or older. There are limited quantities of Cognac known as vintage, (millésime)
which identify the year of the Cognac. Some producers, such as A.E. Dor,
Ragnaud-Sabourin, use numbers to reflect the age and quality of their Cognac. The key to
understanding the age and quality of Cognac is to know that the law requires the label to
indicate the minimum, but not the maximum, age of the eaux-de-vie used. This simply means
that an XO may have 20, 30 or 40 year-old eaux-de-vie in the blend, which presents a
marketing challenge. Thus, the next best indicator of the age and quality of Cognac is
its price, so we believe that, in most cases the higher the price, the higher the
quality of the product.
Blending is an art that is guided, as much by the nose of
the Cellar Master, as by the minimum legal requirements and the demands of the market. All
Cognac sold must be at least 40% volume. Since the eaux-de-vie, at the end of
distillation, has a high alcohol content, the producer must cut or blend its product. Some
use time and patience, that lets nature take care of alcohol reduction. Many, however, use
distilled water as the prime reduction component, as well as a different eaux-de-vie. To
meet certain markets tastes (sweeter Cognac is preferred in Asia, for example), or
certain traditions passed from generation to generation, some producers use caramel and
sugar to alter colour and taste. The blending usually reflects the signature taste of the
brand. In the case of Rémy Martin, it is the signature of the house. Rémy Martin blends
only Grande and Petite Champagne to produce what is known as Fine Champagne Cognac.
A.E. Dor, Les Antiquaires du Cognac, L & L, Ragnaud-Sabourin, Paul Giraud, Daniel
Bouju, Jean Laval and others sell single cru, frequently unblended Cognacs. But, the
majority of Cognacs on the market are blended: Hennessy, Martell, Courvoisier, Boutinet,
Larsen, Leteux, Hine, Balluet, Forgeron, Landier, Delamain, Gautier, A. Hardy, Louis
Bouron, André Petit and others.
There are no clear rules about ageing, but lots of
tradition. The only important fact is that once the eaux-de-vie is out of the casks, the
ageing stops!
It is generally accepted that an eaux-de-vie of 50 years or
so has reached maximum age. It is usually transferred into the glass demijohns to
stop the ageing process. Today, it is a very rare opportunity to purchase Cognac from the
XIXth century, although an 1802 Fins Bois recently came to the market in a very limited
quantity. Another important factor to consider is the fact that during the 1870s all of
the Cognac vineyards were destroyed by the disease called phylloxera. During the
same period, war affected Cognac production, as well as its markets, having a
dramatic impact, not only on the future production but also on the stocks. There are very
few producers who use pre-phylloxera eaux-de-vie in their top products but
Ragnaud-Sabourin is one of them.
If there is one element in the Cognac production that
changes frequently, it is the bottling and packaging process. Almost all of the producers
use some form of automated bottling, but what changes frequently is the shape of the
bottle, style of the label and the cork. This is almost always dictated by the demands of
the market; Asian markets prefer fancy bottles and gold labels; European markets are more
conservative, but are looking for a distinctive bottle; Americans look for the brand name,
rather than packaging. So, of course, there is no shortage of fancy bottles and boxes but,
finally, what is in the bottle is what it is all about. |