Cognac: what you need to know, how it is made, classification + the most complete history of the drink

Cognac - is a type of brandy named after the city of Cognac, France. It is produced in the adjacent Charente and Charente-Maritime wine region.

The production and region of cognac is controlled according to special legislative acts of France.

The most popular grape variety for cognac production - Uni Blanc, also known as St. Emilion and Trebbiano.

Real cognac must be twice distilled in copper cups and aged for at least two years in French oak barrels from Limousin or Tronçais.

Everything you need to know about cognac

White wine used in the manufacture of cognac is very dry, sour and liquid. This is the wine that is best suited for distillation and further "aging" in barrels.

Obviously, only a certain list of varietal grapes will meet these requirements.

For example, in order for a drink to be labeled Cru, the wine must contain at least 90% of Uni Blanc, or Picpoul, or Colombard grapes, the remaining 10% of the grapes used may be: Folignan, Jurançon blanc, Meslier St-François (Blanc Ramé), Sélect, Montils, or Sémillon.

Cognacs that have not received the Cru label are more liberal in the grape varieties allowed; at least 90% Colombard, Folle Blanche, Jouranson Blanc, Meslier St. François, Montils, Semillon, or Uni Blanc, and up to 10% Folignan or Sélect are required.

Fermentation and distillation of cognac

After the grapes are pressed, the juice is left to ferment for 2-3 weeks, and local wild yeast converts sugar into alcohol. Adding sugar and sulfur at this stage is unacceptable. After the yeast has done its job, the resulting wine will contain about 7-8% alcohol.

Distillation takes place in copper alambic cubes of the traditional Charentais shape, the design and dimensions of which are also controlled by law. Double distillation results in a colorless spirit containing about 70% alcohol.

Aging of cognac

Once the distillation is completed, the spirit is sent to be aged in Limousin oak barrels for at least two years.

As cognac interacts with the oak barrel and air, it evaporates at a rate of about 3% annually, slowly losing both alcohol and water. This phenomenon is locally called "la part des anges" or "the share of angels".

Since alcohol evaporates faster than water, the alcohol concentration drops over time to about 40% (from the original 70%).

The cognac is then transferred to large glass bottles called bonbons and stored for further blending.

Oak barrels cease to contribute to the flavor of the drink after four to five decades, so longer aging periods can be simply pointless and unprofitable.

Blending cognac

The age of cognac is calculated as the age of the youngest component used in the blend.

Blending, as a rule, of different ages and from different local areas. Blending of different cognacs is an extremely important procedure to obtain complex flavors that are not available in one distillery or vineyard.

Each cognac house has a master taster (maître de chai) who is responsible for blending spirits, so the cognac produced by the company will have a consistent style and quality of the house.

In this sense, the mixing process is somewhat similar to whiskey.

A very small number of producers, such as Guillon Painturaud and Moyet, do not blend their final product with different ages of eaux de vie, so they produce a "cleaner" flavor (a practice roughly equivalent to the production of single malt Scotch whisky).

Hundreds of other smaller private vineyards in the Cognac AOC region sell their own cognac. They are also blended with other spirits from different years, but these cognacs have slightly variable flavors from year to year, so they lack the predictability of more well-known commercial brands.

Depending on their success in marketing, small producers may sell a larger or smaller share of their product to individual buyers, wine merchants, bars and restaurants, while the rest is purchased by larger cognac houses for blending.

Classification of French cognac

According to the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC), the official quality cognac varieties are:

1. V.S. (Very Specia) or ✯✯✯✯ (three stars) - denotes a mixture in which the youngest brandy was stored in a barrel for at least two years.

2. V.S.O.P. (Very Superior Old Pale) or Reserve - denotes a blend in which the youngest brandy has been stored in a barrel for at least four years.

3. Napoléon - denotes a blend in which the youngest brandy was stored for at least 6 years.

4. XO (Extra Old) - denotes a blend in which the youngest brandy has been stored for at least 10 years.

5. Hors d'âge (Beyond Age) - is a designation that, according to the BNIC, is equal to XO, but in practice, this term is used by producers to market a high-quality product outside the official age scale.

Cognac is also classified by Crus - strictly defined geographical appellations where grapes are grown. Their unique soil and microclimate characteristics create special properties that are specific to a particular location.

1. Grande Champagne (13,766 hectares) - soils in Grand Champagne and Petit Champagne are characterized as fine clay-limestone over limestone and chalk.

2. Petite Champagne (16,171 hectares) - have characteristics similar to those of Grande Champagne. Cognacs made from a blend of Grande and Petite Champagn eaux de vie (with at least 50% Grande Champagne) can be sold as "Fine Champagne".

3. Borderies (4 160 hectares) - the smallest Cru. The soil of this denomination contains clay and flint stones formed as a result of limestone decomposition.

4. Fins Bois (34 265 hectares) - heavier and faster aging eaux de vie, ideal for creating the base of some blended cognacs. The soils here are predominantly red clay-limestone and very stony or heavy clay soils.

5. Bons Bois and Bois Ordinaires (19,979 hectares in total) - poorer soil under the influence of the maritime climate.

6. Bois à terroirs - is a sandy soil covering coastal areas and some valleys.

History of cognac

The history of cognac actually begins in the third century. The region and the drink cognac have a long history and encompasses all kinds of nations, merchants, kings and aristocrats, natural disasters, wars and cold winters. Despite all of this, the product has been getting better and better, century after century.

III century: Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius Probus grants the Gallic inhabitants the right to own vineyards and produce wine.

XII century: Guillaume X, Duke of Guyenne and Poitiers, orders the planting of vineyards in the Poitou-Charentes region.

1204: The first traders from La Rochelle come to England to sell wine.

1270: Salt and wine from the Sentonge region are sold in Hamburg (Hanse).

1337: With the outbreak of the 100 Years' War between England and France, wine from the Charente region is exported to Great Britain.

1411: For the first time, "brandy" is distilled in the area Armagnac. Consumers are mostly farmers.

1494: François I (who later became King of France) was born in Cognac. Years later, François will allow the Cognac region to trade in salt, using local rivers such as the Charente River.

XVI century: Dutch merchants buy wine in the Champagne and Bordeaux regions and ship it to the Netherlands. Soon they had to realize that wine spoils during transportation, so the Dutch began to distill wine and call it Brandwijn. Having delivered the cargo to the Netherlands, the drink was diluted with water and sold to the local population.

1549: The first cognac appears in the region of the same name: historian André Castelot reports on a merchant from La Rochelle who produced four barrels of good cognac.

1559: The vineyards of the Aunis region produce too much wine, but the demand is much lower. The Dutch are already using the wine in their distilleries, so the excess amount of Aunis wine is distilled. The word Brandwijn leads to the word Brandy.

1624: Two Dutchmen, Van Der Bougvert and Lou Deyck, find a distillery in Tonne.

1636: There was a riot because of high taxes on wine. As a result, farmers were unable to sell their wine.

XVII century: Wine merchants use "double distillation": Alcohol is now distilled twice. The double distillation process was originally undertaken because of lower transportation costs, as it resulted in less quantity and volume. This meant more space on ships.

In the 17th century, cognac was already transported in oak barrels. This is when traders learned that the taste of the drink changes during storage in barrels.

1638: Lewis Roberts mentions a wine called Rotchell or Cogniacke.

1643: Philippe Augier founds Augier cognac; 15 years later, the company becomes Augier Frères.

1678: "Brandy Cognac" is first mentioned in a London newspaper.

18th century: The first trading houses are founded. They buy different alcohol to resell to buyers in Northern Europe, the Netherlands, and England.

1709: The vineyards of Saintonge are destroyed by a very cold winter.

1715: Jean Martel founds the company Martell.

1724: Paul-Émile Rémy Martin and his father Jean Guy found the brand Remy Martin.

05.06.1731: Louis XV forbids planting vineyards without official permission.

1762: James Delamayne becomes a partner at Ransom & Co Delamain in Jarnak.

1765: James Hennessy, a former army officer under Louis XV, founds the brand Hennessy.

1779: Today, there are ten trading houses in the center of Cognac.

1783: The ageing period for cognac in oak barrels is extended.

1794: Hennessy is exported to North America, New York.

1795: James Hennessy marries Martha Martel; Baron Jean-Baptiste Antoine Othard and Jean Dupuis found the brand The herd.

19th century: Cognac is no longer sold in barrels, but in glass containers. This leads to the birth of a completely new industry: bottles, corks.

1817: Appearance of the V.O.P. and V.S.O.P.

1819: New brand of cognac Biscuit, Alexandre Biscuit is founded.

1824: Henri Delamay and his cousin Paul Rowlet establish Cognac Rowlet and Delamay in Yarnac.

1835: Félix Courvoisier and Louis Gallois found the cognac company Courvoisier Jarnak is founded.

1848: The poet Alfred de Vigny produces his own cognac at La Maine Giraud.

1849: Martell first uses labels on cognac bottles.

1850: Cognac is exported to Australia.

1854: Four zones appear on the maps of the Cognac region: Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Premier Bois and Deuxième Bois.

1856: Hennessy starts labeling bottles.

1858: The foundation of the brand A.E. Dor in Jarnak.

1861: Martell sells its cognac in Shanghai, China.

1863: Cognac Camus founded by Jean-Baptiste Camus.

1864: Hennessy registers its name and the now famous "axe in hand" trademark.

1865: Auguste Hennessy first uses stars to label his cognacs.

1870: Fin Bois and Bon Bois zones are added to the maps of the Cognac wine region.

The end of the 19th century: Cognac is exported to Bombay, India. A winemaking disaster strikes: 280,000 hectares of vineyards are reduced to 40,000 hectares.

1876: Courvoisier begins labeling its bottles.

1877: Growth in vineyards is recorded in the Cognac region (about 300,000 hectares).

1889: Cognac Frappin and Cognac Courvoisier win gold medals at the Paris exhibition.

1890: Hennessy becomes the world market leader in cognac production.

20th century: vines are imported from North America, Uni Blanc replaces Folle Blanche and Colombard. Cognac production became more limited and controlled.

1909: Six cognac zones are defined by law and protected.

1923: Hennessy and Martell cognac brands begin to exchange information about export markets. Knowledge agreement lasts 29 years.

1927: The words "Fine Champagne" appear on the bottles of Rémy Martin V.S.O.P.

1930: Cocktails with cognac become popular.

1934: Courvoisier uses the historical personality of Napoleon to sell its cognac.

1936: New rules for cognac production: wine for distillation must be produced from white grapes. The addition of sugar is strictly prohibited.

1946: The Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC) is founded.

1964: Canadian group Hiriam-Walker acquires Courvoisier.

1967: Pernod Ricard buys Biscuit cognac house.

1971: Hennessy, Moet-Chandon and Heine are acquired by The Distillers Limited Company.

1986: Allied Domecq buys Courvoisier.

1987: Founding of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH).

1988: Seagram buys Martell cognac.

1990-е: Busta Rhymes releases its song "Pass the Courvoisier", which leads to a sharp increase in cognac sales in the United States.

1995 - 2000: The US market becomes more and more important for the cognac industry: rappers and hip-hop musicians make the drink extremely popular in the US.

2000: The heyday of fake cognacs around the world, ranging from outright surrogates to quite tolerable brandies.

2001: Seagram (Martell) was acquired by Pernod Ricard and Diageo; Hennessy broke the sales record by selling 35 million bottles worldwide.

2005: Moet Hennessy wins a lawsuit in China over the fake Hanlissy-Cognac brand.

2008: LVMH acquired a 55% stake in one of the leading Chinese producers Wenjun Distillery.

2010: China becomes the largest market for Hennessy.

2011: Moet Hennessy announces the establishment of its first vineyard in China in partnership with Ningxia Nongken (a state-owned agricultural company).

2011 to present: Cognac is one of the main products of France: 98% of the cognac produced is exported. Asia and the USA are the largest and most important markets for cognac.

Update: 25.04.2019

Category: Brandy and Cognac