Cognac A.E.Dor: a guide to alcohol
About the brand A.E.Dor
French cognac A.E Dor is produced by a family-owned cognac house located in Jarnac. The company, modest in terms of sales, is nevertheless of great importance and historical significance: it has one of the most valuable collections of old cognac spirits.
This brandy was born thanks to the ambitions of Amadeus-Edouard Dor. A descendant of a family of winemakers, he did not want to follow the path imposed by his ancestors. Amadeus-Edouard's longtime passion was cognac. Being a true creator at heart, Dor experimented with cognac spirits, trying to create the perfect recipe. As a resident of the Cognac province, Amadeus-Edouard had the opportunity to engage in such activities constantly and learn about all the new ideas in the world of cognac in a timely manner. Having founded the cognac house in 1858, Dor not only put his soul into it, but also gave the company his own name - A. E. Dor.
A collection of spirits, many of which were aged for many years, helped Dor in his work. As a result, he managed to create the drink of his dreams, which not only fully satisfied the owner of the house, but also appealed to other connoisseurs.
Today A.E.Dor is among the top ten leading cognac houses in the world. The owners of the company continue to follow the philosophy laid down by Dor. Their collection includes vintage cognacs, including elite millesimals. These drinks are never used for production: on the contrary, they are the pride of the company, creating the image of the enterprise.
The history of A.E.Dor
1858: Amadeus-Edouard Dore establishes his own cognac distillery.
1874: After the outbreak of the phylloxera epidemic, Amadeus-Edouard Dore conducted a campaign to buy up cognac spirits. He assumed that old spirits would sooner or later acquire special value. At the same time, he created lists indicating the years of production of all spirits, including the exclusive cognacs of 1805 and 1811., that have survived to this day.
1922-1972: The company was headed by Amédée-Edouard's son-in-law Noël Dayel-Dor, who in 1951 received permission from the authorities to sell cognacs with an alcohol content below 40%. He was able to prove that the decrease in strength was only due to natural evaporation.
Later, the house was taken over by the Legran group, which produced Benedictine liqueur. During this period, it was managed by Philippe Mitterrand, brother of former French President François Mitterrand.
1982: Sale of A.E.Dor to Jacques Riviere, who was working in the textile industry at the time. When his wife, Odile, realized what a treasure they had acquired, she quickly gained a wide range of knowledge about cognac and became a great maitre d' - the blends she created are still sought after by collectors.
2015: A.E.Dor, with an annual turnover of €6 million, was acquired by Unicognac, a subsidiary of the Charentes Alliance cooperative group, for an undisclosed amount. Under the terms of the agreement, Unicognac and A.E Dor retains full autonomy within the Group.
2016: Merger of Charentes Alliance and Corea Poitou-Charentes, resulting in a new structure - Ocealia, which includes 1250 winegrowers, 27 technical consultants, 4 combined cellars, a distillery, Jules Gautret, a company engaged in bottling and marketing of wine, pinot de charente, cognac.
Types of cognac A.E Dor
To keep up with all the limited edition cognacs, Vzboltai recommends visiting the official website https://www.aedor.fr/en/gamme-tradition/. Only some popular types will be described below.
Cognac serving temperature: 20-22 °С
A.E Dor VS
Aging: 5 years.
The cognac has a pleasant golden color, has a soft, rounded taste with a very long aftertaste. It has a wonderful bouquet with floral hints. It is an excellent digestif, goes well with coffee, desserts, fruits, chocolate.
A.E Dor VSOP Rare Fine Champagne
Ageing: 8 years.
Cognac of a beautiful amber color, shiny and transparent. It has a rich, mild flavor with a long, charming aftertaste. Aroma with floral tones, perfectly balanced. It is an excellent digestif, goes well with coffee, desserts, fruits.
A.E Dor Napoleon
Aging: 15 years.
Amber-colored cognac. The taste is soft, delicate, round, velvety with a long aftertaste. Aroma with tones of vanilla and violet. It is an excellent digestif, goes well with coffee, cigar, desserts.
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A.E Dor XO
Aging: 25 years.
The cognac has a beautiful amber color, shiny and transparent. It has a wonderful balanced taste with a long and charming aftertaste. The aroma is balanced with floral, fruity and honey tones. Goes well with coffee, cigar, desserts.
A.E.Dor Extra
Aging: 40 years.
The cognac has a beautiful dark amber color. It has a strict but soft, rounded taste, with bright tones of "rancio" and a long warming aftertaste. The aroma of the cognac has beautiful notes of cocoa, vanilla and violets.
Cognac is an excellent digestif, it can be consumed with a slice of lemon, chocolate, coffee, desserts, fruits.
Interesting facts about A.E Dor
In 1951, A.E Dor, as an exception, gave permission to trade in millesime cognacs with a strength below 40 degrees. This is the only case of exemption from the requirements of the 1946 decree, according to which the minimum strength of any cognac must be at least 40%.
Millesime cognacs are produced from noble grape varieties grown in the Grand Champagne, Petite Champagne and Fen Bois vineyards. No sugar or other components are added to them, and therefore these cognacs are distinguished by their natural color and natural taste.
In the treasury of collectible millesime cognacs A.E Dor (A E Dor) also produces Roi de Rome cognac (31 degrees). The grapes for this cognac were harvested in 1811, when Napoleon had a son who was named King of Rome. In total, the A.E Dor eight types of cognac.
Part of the spirits from the old reserves that have been exhausted, A.E Dor is used to improve commercially available assemblage cognacs.
A.E Dor collection refused to use the gas used to heat the distillation cubes during distillation. Alambics are now melted with wood and charcoal, traditional materials that allow for a smooth temperature increase, which significantly improves the characteristics of the spirit. This step can only be considered as an advertising one, since the uneven heating of the alambic from below has a bad effect on the taste of cognac.
Update: 08.11.2021
Category: Brandy and Cognac