By Margaret Swaine
They call it the angels’ share. Every year about three per cent of the liquid gold that slumbers in oak barrels in Cognac evaporates into the air. It’s the equivalent I’ve heard of 23 million bottles of cognac annually. Evidence of the thirst of angels is seen by the black that licks upward around the windowsills outside cognac warehouses. The buildings look like the devil’s set them on fire. The earthly reality is that a black fungus lives off cognac vapours.
It’s a point of pride that black. No one cleans it off. It’s also part testament to why cognac is so expensive. Cognac you see is an aged brandy. While it mellows away in oak barrels the angels sip but the cognac houses see no return until it’s time to bottle. Fifty years is generally thought to be the optimum time in wood though in truth few cognacs are aged that long. Further most cognacs are blends of many different vintages. So are the older cognacs worth their exalted prices? Louis XIII, Rémy Martin’s top product costs nearly one hundred dollars an ounce. It does come in a beautiful baccarat crystal bottle but that alone can’t justify the expense.
I’ve had the pleasure of tasting some extremely old cognacs while visiting chateau cellars in Cognac. The town lies north of Bordeaux on the banks of the Charente River. Its citizens claim that cognac vapours in the air are responsible for their remarkable longevity. Certainly the town is a sleepy hollow, more remarkable for its history first as a centre of salt commerce in the Middle Ages and later as a supplier of superior brandy from the 17th century onwards, than for anything modern. South of the town limits lie the most highly regarded districts for growing the grapes to make cognac, namely the Grande Champagne and the Petite Champagne. The chalky contoured hills and calcareous soils in these crus are best for the cultivation of ugni blanc, the grape that makes 98 per cent of all cognac today.
The third most important cru is Borderies, whose brandies often have a spiced perfume. Lesser crus surrounding Cognac in wide bands are Fins Bois, Bons Bois and Bois Ordinaires. The area has had four centuries to recognize the prowess of different crus and the price paid for the grapes varies accordingly. Rémy Martin uses only Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne (collectively called Fine Champagne) in their blends. Others such as Courvoisier often include Borderies and Fins Bois which their Master Blenders say contribute to the flavour portrait. Each cognac house has its own style which cognoscenti savour.
The grapes are made into wine and then distilled twice in copper-pot stills. Master distillers put their stamp on the spirit by cutting the “heads” and the “tails” of the distillate at exact points to optimize flavours while cutting out undesirable odors. Fresh from the stills, the grape spirit is fiery with floral, fruity aromas. Oak from French forests, toasted by fire when the barrels are made, add their aromas of vanilla, brioche and cinnamon. Then slow oxidation in these barriques puts the final touches of mushroom, Roquefort cheese and leathery/nutty “rancio” to the mix.
The legal minimum aging for VS category cognacs is two years, though actual products tend more towards four to seven years in barrel. VSOP and Reserve cognac need over four years minimum but generally are blends from five to twelve years. XO, Extra, Hors d’Age and other old cognacs will have seven to about forty year olds in their blend. A cognac reaches its peak after about fifty years in casks and at that point it’s transferred into glass demijohns. It’s protected in these sealed inert containers awaiting the call of the Master Blender. Cognac houses call the locked cellar that holds these most ancient of spirits, Le Paradis.
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The Paradis cellars can have cognacs from the 1800’s or for example at Courvoisier as far back as 1789. In the Paradis of Martell I have sipped on 1848 cognac, aged in barrels 65 years then put in demi-johns on May 30, 1913. Its taste was very spicy, long and dry with wood overtones. The 1875 I tried which spent 49 years in oak was even more intense, pungent and powerful, with rich, thick sweet tastes. What these rarities offer is a sip of history though rather than the ultimate taste experience.
Louis XIII Grand Champagne Cognac, a blend of cognacs from 40 years to more than century in age, is being offered this Christmas in a 1.5 litre version for $4,399.95 in Ontario. Those less flush in cash can try a 50mL miniature for about 500 dollars. The Rémy Martin XO Excellence, a blend of 10 to 37 year old eaux-de-vie rings in at around two hundred dollars. New this year is Rémy Martin 1738 Accord Royal, a Fine Champagne Cognac with a unique mellow, rich taste, that’s a grade up from VSOP while more affordable than XO ($124.95 in Ontario and about $82. in Alberta).
Courvoisier has its own range from VS and VSOP up to XO and the ultimate L’Esprit de Courvoisier which includes cognac dating back to 1803. Succession J.S. an all Grande Champagne blend of vintages all from a single estate was created to honour Napoleon, who is said to have preferred Courvoisier as his cognac. The XO will set you back about $180 while J.S. Succession which blends vintages from 1900 to 1950 costs around three thousand dollars. L’Esprit housed in Lalique crystal sells for around five thousand.
So what about the aged cognacs sold today? Are they worth the price? I’d say the price is justified. It up to you to decide how much value you place on history.