IN THE
GLASS ART OF DISTILLING AND BLENDING — WHY GREAT COGNAC IS IN HIGH DEMAND
by Andrew Rosenbaum
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“The art of a great cognac comes from centuries of
Harvey, Master of Wines at Bonhams, talking
experience in distilling and blending,” adds Benoit Fils,
about the July 13 auction in London of bottles
maitre du chai (master blender) at cognac house Martell,
of 1840 cognac, exported in cask and aged in
where his team tastes about 3,500 eaux-de-vie every year.
the UK. “We had international participation for what
WHAT MAKES A GREAT COGNAC?
is usually a specialist interest.” Cognac that was
You can probably guess that just having an old cognac doesn’t
moved to the UK and aged in cask in Britain has special qualities,
make it great. As the famous cognac producer Jean Monnet
because the cool and moist local climate enhances the effects
once said: “The great thing about making cognac is that it
of the wood, Harvey explained. The five lots brought in
teaches you to wait.”
more than £10,000.
First, grapes have to be grown and harvested. Cognac, in
Prices keep rising, because there is only so much great
the French Southwest departement or county of Charente,
cognac available for sale, points out Bay van der Bunt of
is where the grapes are grown. Around the town of Cognac
Breda, Netherlands-based Old Liquors, which hosts the
are six small areas where the best white grapes for making
largest collection of great cognac in Europe. What’s more,
cognac are located: These are Bois Ordinaires, Bons Bois, Fins
limited editions still constitute collector’s items.
Bois, Borderies, Petite Champagne and Grande Champagne
A good example is the recent sale for a charity held by
(nothing to do with the wine called champagne; it’s just an
Artcurial in the town of Cognac, where a bottle of Martell was
old French word which originally meant “open country”). The
sold for €31,000 (£27,417) after being offered at €11,000.
most-used grape is the Ugni blanc.
The baccarat-crystal bottle was designed in 1954, and the
The best cognac comes from the Grande and Petite
box was created by the artist Thierry Drevelle. The bottle
Champagne areas, which is why you will see old cognac
contained an eau-de-vie from 1920 which came from a single
labelled “fine champagne.”
oak cask.
These grapes are fermented until they reach about
“Where there are unique bottles, prices soar!” insists
nine per cent alcohol levels, and then they are made into
Stephen Mould, Head of Wine at Sotheby’s Europe, who agrees
the components of cognac, the “eaux-de-vie” which means
that demand for great cognac — both for very old bottles and
simply a spirit distilled from wine. Wines for cognac are twice
for blends of old spirit bottled in new objets d’art produced by
distilled, to bring them up to the very high alcohol level of
the great cognac houses — is definitely on the rise. There are
72 per cent at which they can be used for cognac blending.
no statistics kept on cognac sold at auction, but, according
The ‘double-distillation,’ as the French call it, enhances the
to David Baker, managing director of the Bradford-on-Avon-
special elements in the wines very effectively.
based dealer Hermitage Cognacs, exceptional cognac has
First, however, the eaux-de-vie are themselves aged,
seen nearly an 100 per cent rise in price at auction over the
for as much as two years. They then go into an oak barrel,
past 10 years.
and can spend up to 40 years there in which the wood
Why? “A vintage dating from a historic date such as 1812
gives character and form to them. How and where the
or 1914 means that you are drinking liquid history, adding
aging process takes place is very important — unstable
to the uniqueness and mystery of a great Cognac,” Mould
weather conditions can rudely affect the final result. This is
points out.
why there is special interest in so-called “landed cognac,”
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IMAGE COURTESY: SOTHEBY'S
I
t was a particularly exciting sale,” says Richard
A unique Crystal Magnum Decanter of Special Louis XIII Cognac European Edition. It was sold for £188,000 ($235,000) by Sotheby's
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which was exported in the 19th century to the UK for
complex nose — even more than a great Burgundy or Bordeaux
aging and bottling. As cognac ages, it needs to be "topped
— and a musty richness on the palate that is unequalled,”
up," because alochol disappears over time. Cognac aged
explains Baker. “Truly great cognac has what producers call
in the UK barrels does not need to be “topped up” and so
“rancio:” A walnut oil-like nuttiness that is soft yet bitter.”
retains quality.
In fact, cognac experts say that each bottle has 25 sips
Some cognacs come from a single eau-de-vie from a
in it. “You don’t drink cognac, you place it on the tongue and
specific barrel. Others are blended by the “maître du chai,”
let it disappear,” explains van der Bunt. “There is nothing in
the famous ‘nose’ of the great cognac houses, into very special
the world like a great cognac, which is why some people pay
cognacs for which the experience and artistic skill of the
10-20 thousand pounds for a 50-year old bottle and then just
blender makes all the difference.
enjoy it.” (It is said that Russian connoisseurs often do this
So, whether a bottle of cognac is old or young, what matters is how it was produced, blended and aged. For young
just to talk about it afterwards).
cognac, there are three different grades: VS, or very special,
PRE- OR POST-PHYLLOXERA?
aged at least two years, VSOP, very superior old pale, aged
For collectors, the most prized cognacs are so-called “pre-
at least four years, and XO, extra old, aged at least 10 years.
phylloxera,” that is, made with grapes grown before the fungus
But great cognac is always aged for many years in the barrel.
epidemic that destroyed Europe’s wine industry stock in the
Cognac does not age in the bottle like wine, so the barrel-age
late 19th century. The grapes grown before the epidemic
is what makes the difference.
came from plants that had different qualities than those that
The value of a bottle of very old cognac depends heavily
replaced them after almost complete destruction.
on its condition. If the seal has been broken, a good part of the
“This does not mean, however, that cognac made ‘post-
contents may have evaporated or deteriorated. “In the collection
phylloxera’ is not collectible,” explains Baker. “Many collectors
of great old cognac, you don’t just look for an old bottle from a
look for specific producers from later years. Vintages, or years
good producer, you look for a carefully stored bottle,” warns van
of production like 1920, are also highly prized because the
der Bunt. In the case of the 1840 cognac stored in the UK, the
quality of the eaux-de-vie is well-known.”
cognac sat in the cellar of an old English manor house for 100 years, and so was in excellent condition for sale. “When all the conditions are right, great cognac has a very
It’s clear that collectors do favor ‘post-phylloxera’ limited editions which offer the best of the great cognac houses — Hennessy, Hine, Martell, Remy Martin, Courvoisier, Delamain
A vintage dating from a historic date such as 1812 or 1914 means that you are drinking liquid history, adding to the uniqueness and mystery of a great Cognac — Stephen Mould, Head of Wine, Sotheby’s Europe
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Old cognac bottles
and Croizet among others. “They are very successful at
are labelled “fine
auction,” Mould says, “but they may become victims of their
champagne” because
success if the houses try to sell too many of them.”
the best cognac comes
Recent sales show only great interest: A lot of Remy Martin
from the Grande and
Louis XIII Black Pearl cognac — specially blended from the
Petite Champagne areas,
producer’s finest eaux-de-vie — in a crystal decanter sold for as
around the
much as £17,000 per lot in in a London sale on April 6, 2017.
town of Cognac
But investment in pre-phylloxera great stock is just as successful. “I bought a bottle of 1795 Brugerolle in a handblown bottle, specially intended for Napoleon’s officers to take to the front with them in 1990,” says van der Bunt. “That bottle cost £20,000 in 1990 and it is now valued at £138,000.”
ASIA, RUSSIA STRONG AT AUCTIONS Buyers in Asia and Russia continue to play a major role in the market for great cognac. “Cognac has always been a status symbol in Asia, where top businesspeople routinely sit down over a bottle of XO,” Baker says. “And Hong Kong is still the most important auction site for great cognac.” But Mould notes that the economic slowdown in Russia has hurt that demand, and the policy changes in China have also meant less great cognac purchasing there. Nonetheless, he notes sales for particularly interesting pre-phylloxera bottles have reached levels of £30,000 – 40,000 recently, and seem likely to stay at those levels. But interest is equally strong from Europe and the US. A recent release of a 1947 vintage “hors d’age” (ageless) cognac in London of 186 bottles highlights this. This vintage spirit from a well-known distiller was aged for more than 40 years in barrels. Experts say it has developed a good rancio, and the nose has flavors of sweet spices, ripe medlars, Muscat grapes, ripe plums and cocoa. It is being snapped up by collectors. Demand for pre-phylloxera cognac of this quality is likely to continue to grow, while supplies diminish. “Demand for great cognac stays consistent,” comments Mould, “but prices
F
can be expected to keep rising as competition for the best increases.”
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