Some facts
All brandy is a spirit distilled from grapes; Cognac is generally made from Ugni Blanc (Trebbiano in Italy), which, for the production of wine, is a ubiquituous but fairly forgettable grape. For brandy, this makes it ideal: its high acidity produces esters which means lots of aromatic compounds. Likewise, the low alcohol wine produced allows concentrated aromas to come through in the distillation process.
The soils of Cognac are similar to Champagne, which is why Cognac's two most important areas have easily confused names: Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne. The chalky soils have good drainage, making the grapes work hard, but there are differences between the areas. Grande Champagne is uniformly Campanian limestone, producing Cognacs that are elegant and delicate, with flavours of orange blossom when young and orange rind when more mature. Petite Champagne, which surrounds its more prestigious neighbour, has wines that are elegant but robust, with darker, richer fruits: the limestone here is Santonian. Of the other areas, it's Fin Bois that has the most significance: the soils are not uniform, but where they are chalky, Cognac as exceptional as those of the two Champagnes can be produced.
Oak is all important, with a variety of age to the oak used. Some new oak is used to provide flavours, but they cannot dominate, so after 3-6 months the wine will be transferred to old oak barrels, which allows in air and the spirit to evaporate. Humidity in the cellar is crucial: a wet cellar means alcohol evaporates, resulting in a gentler wine; a dry cellar means water evaporates, resulting in an austerer wine. To add to the complexity, Cognac is nearly always a blend of different vintages.
There are some basic terms that indicate the age of a Cognac, though quality Cognacs will always have been aged much longer:
VS - has to have been aged for at least two years
VSOP - has to have been aged for at least four years
XO - has to have been aged for at least six years
What we tasted
Le Reviseur VS (£35) - a single estate Cognac from Petite Champagne, with an average age of 8 years (but ranging from 4-20 years); lots of dried fruits, with a floral nose; nutty, salty, and spicy, but with a shortish finish.
Leyrat VSOP (£55) - single estate from Fins Bois. The estate is on gentle slopes, benefitting from sunshine trapped by surrounding hills. The wine, a beautiful pale colour despite its age (less time in new oak), was elegant and delicate, with poached pears and peaches and sweet spices. The XO, aged for around 30 years, had more dried fruits, with a long spicy finish.
Maxime Trijol XO (£120) - a small output which is funded by making Cognac for Rémy-Martin, one of the four giant operations. The Grande Champagne XO had depth, complexity, and elegance, with dried fruits, and an oily, oxidised, rancio quality reminiscent of old cheese.
Ragnaud Sabourin Fontvieille No.35 (£135) - Ragnaud Sabourin is known as one of the finest of all Cognac producers. Since it was founded by Gaston Briand, it has been run by three generations of women, who uphold the company's traditions: low quantity, high quality. There was a beautiful complexity to this Grande Champagne Cognac: dried fruits, leather, tannin, floral spices, oranges and citrus.
Cognac is dominated by four brands - Rémy-Martin, Hennessey, Martell, and Courvoisier - who together sell 80% of all Cognac. We tasted these boutique Cognacs together with Rémy-Martin VSOP and Martell XO. The Rémy-Martin, retailing at around £30-40, was of a good standard, with bread and toffee flavours, though its finish wasn't that long - relatively good value for the price. The Martell XO, retailing at around £120-130, quite simply had none of the distinctive characteristics of the Cognacs from the smaller producers yet was selling for around the same price. Proof that if you have the money to spend, spend it on quality not on a famous name.
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