Cognac Unconquered
Last Spring I recommended St-Remy XO Napoleon Brandy (557108) as a best buy at only $27 (now $27.60) and not to be confused with the inferior St-Remy VSOP Napoleon at $21.75. A friend loved this XO Napoleon (sic) so much that he challenged me to a comparative blind tasting of it vs. Cognac, the king of brandies. While the St-Remy XO performed well, the recommended Cognacs below remained unconquered in a class of their own. What elevates Cognac over the sea of brandies, is its potential for greatness - finesse, balance and delicacy. These qualities are not always completely self-evident to the uninitiated, especially when it is used in cocktails. Like many things, Cognac is a bit of an acquired taste. It is the ultimate expression of the grapes, which are 95% Ugni Blanc (also known as Trebianno in Italy) all grown in a small-delineated area just 100 km northeast of Bordeaux. Every aspect of its production is controlled, including the distillation which must be done in traditional pot stills. To see how Cognac is made click here Unlike Scotch, where the best is unblended from a single site in a specific year, Cognac is almost always a blend of various vintages. While single vintage-dated Cognacs exist (three Hine specimens reside in Vintages), they are the exception. In addition, most producers find that blending brandy from different vineyards and sub regions results in better balance.
Regarding the latter, Cognac's character definitely has a terroire connection. Arguably "the best" comes from the unique chalky soils found in the small "Grande Champagne" region. The highly regarded vineyards of "Petit Champagne" forming a semicircle around the latter. To be called "Fine Champagne", at least 50% of the blend has to come from the premium Grande Champagne region, the balance from Petit Champagne. Cognac may also be sold as a "Fine Borderies" when sourced from the tiny Borderies region, or if from the massive Bois areas, as a "Fin Bois" or "Bons Bois". When a region is named, 100% must come from the area itself. For details on the specific regions of Cognac click here Age designation is a key factor determining price. It is illegal to reveal the actual age of the blend. The lowest classification is three star or VS ("Very Special") for brandy that has been aged a minimum of two and one-half years in cask. There are vast differences between these basic Cognacs, especially as there are some 320 different producers. The cheapest can be quite disappointing. Most exports, however, are concentrated in the hands of a few large, well-known, firms whose VS Cognacs likely to have just over 4 years of average age. Next comes VSOP (Very Superior Old Pale), which is at least 4.5 years old - although most of it averages 7-10 years. Moving up the scales is XO (Extra Old) and/or Napoleon, which is legally fixed at a 5.5 year minimum, but actually averages 15-25 years. Finally, there are the rare Grande Reserves, which although not defined by law, can be 50-years-old and up. The "best" Cognac is very much a matter of personal taste. Each producer has its own style, which is related to a host of things: like the type of oak for aging, length of time in new wood vs. old wood, the age of and components in the blend, even cellar humidity and the configuration of the pot still. Caramel is usually added to give the spirit a deeper, more uniform colour, along with some sugar (up to 8 grams per litre) to take the edge off youthful blends. To confuse matters, different styles of the same brands may be produced for various markets. In Asia, for instance, some producers will make the Cognac darker with more caramel because buyers associate this with extra age and higher quality. I blind tasted my way through four separate flights from the least expensive VS brands, then the VSOP group, a handful of XO and finally, the most expensive. First, of five VS brands, all but one (the cheapest) cut the mustard. My pick as best buy is Mounier VS (346205) at $49.95 for 1140 ml ($1.30 per ounce) - currently not available at the LCBO. It has a very slightly spicy, plumy, caramel tinged nose with hints of sweet prune. It is dry but not austere with fairly smooth, caramel tinged, slightly spicy, honeyed prune flavours with a warm, lingering, finish. It improved as it open up in the glass. My first choice of the group was the truly excellent Remy Martin VS Petite Champagne Grand Cru (20412) at $51.60 ($2.03 per ounce) - now $57.65. It was followed by the slightly fuller bodied, gently earthier Courvoisier VS (1925) at $50.50 (now $55.15). These and the light, very spicy Hennessy VS (8284) at $49.95 (now $58.95) are all considerably pricier than the Mounier. In the VSOP group, 9 items were blind tasted ranging from $64.95 to $80.05. Half could be easily recommended. The highest score 91 points went to harmonious, gently honeyed, plumy Rémy Martin VSOP Fine Champagne (4101) at $74.60 (now $84.95). Four were tied with just one point less, including the elegant Courvoisier VSOP Fine Champagne (9902) at $71.95 (now $84.95), the complex Marnier VSOP Fine Champagne (67694) at $67.60 (currently not available at the LCBO) and the firm Hine Rare VSOP Fine Champagne (356857) at $79.20 (now $80.95). Of the seven under-$200 items in the XO group, the best was a very classy Hennessy XO (61440) at $199.95 (now $219.95), followed by Martell Cordon Bleu (55145) at $150 (now $149.50). Moving up a notch, I tackled four super premium Cognacs all in small miniature bottles, varying in price from $249.95 to $1899 (now $1882.95) per 750 ml. The latter, Hennessy 'Richard' (438929) ($74.88 per ounce) was the Cognac of the tasting with a truly stunning nose. Is it worth it? It depends on how many Ferraris you have in the garage. I wish I could have tasted the Rémy Martin Louis XIII (67090) at $2099 (now $2400.00) for 700 ml ($88.68 per ounce) in the blind tasting, but alas my bottle was empty. While I did have an opportunity to get an ample impression of this classic with Rémy Martin world ambassador Jason Bowden during a wonderful marathon tasting luncheon at Harbour Sixty last year, I actually ended up preferring the less expensive Rémy Martin "Extra" Fine Champagne (215368) at $435 per 700 ml (now $456.05). Upon reviewing my tasting notes, I am sure that the unadorned Hennessy Richard mentioned above might well have come out victorious over Louis XIII. There is no question that it is the packaging that makes Louis XIII such a sought after item. If you happen to be a fan, why not help out our east coast friends by liberating a bottle from the Nova Scotia Liquor Commission where it sells for a much more modest $1399.99 (click here to see this item). Note that the NSLC charges a 20-cent refundable deposit for the bottle. They can call me collect if one shows up! Those wishing to explore this unique brandy should get a copy of the 2005, richly illustrated book by Nicholas Faith simply entitled Cognac, which lists at $50 and is available at chapters.indigo.ca for $33 (click here). It includes a directory of over 100 top Cognacs, including the author's favourites. Note that this book is basically an illustrated version of Faith's 2004 hardcover also called Cognac (but without photographs) that appeared in the Mitchell Beazley Classic Wine Library series. Unfortunately, the new illustrated version has a bit less text and does not include the appendix, glossary and bibliography. The original 2004 book lists for $39.95 and is available at chapters.indigo.ca $26.74 (click here). The Cognac Tasting To get an idea visually of what is entailed, let me refer you to a terrific book by Gordon Brown called Handbook of Fine Brandies: The Definitive Taster's Guide to the World's Brandies, which was published in 1990 and is one of the most comprehensive guides available, describing more than 300 selections from France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Australia, and the United States. I like his approach of trying to visually quantify the character of each brandy. An example of the Vintages Essential Hine Antique Fine Champagne (145466) at $149.95 (now $161.95) and Hine Triomphe Grande Champagne (190652) at $239.95 (now $277.95) are positioned side by side below.
My tasting note for the Antique reads (December 2005): Medium golden amber colour. Intense, slightly spicy, warmed walnuts, caramelized ripe plum nose with some autumnal fallen leaf notes. Dry, well balanced, slightly honeyed, harmonious, ripe plum flavours with lingering, caramel tinged notes. Scored andMy tasting note for the Triomphe reads (December 4, 2004): Medium orange amber colour. Attractive, slightly sweet, honeyed, ripe plum and caramel nose. Well balanced, harmonious, caramel and ripe plum flavours with some elegant, gently floral notes on the lingering finish. Scored Comparative Blind Cognac Tasting Cognac VS Class A BEST BUY! • Recommended by Michael Vaughan
Recommended by Michael Vaughan A BEST BUY! • Recommended by Michael Vaughan
88 • Hennessy
Cognac VS Very Special (GL #8284 - $54.95
- now $58.95) 85 • Dorlan
Cognac VS Very Special (GL #895185 - $29.95
- now $34.15) Cognac VSOP Class Recommended by Michael Vaughan Recommended by Michael Vaughan Recommended by Michael Vaughan Recommended by Michael Vaughan 88.5 • Martell
Cognac VSOP Medallion Old Vine Cognac (GL #65623 - $73.55
- now $79.95) 88.5 • Courvoisier
Cognac VSOP Fine Champagne (GL #9902 - $71.95
- now $84.95) 88 • Otard
Cognac VSOP (GL #36855 - $65.00
- now $69.40) 88 • Hennessy
Cognac VSOP Privilege (GL #43703 - $79.95
- now $84.95) 86.5 • Meukow
Cognac VSOP Feline Superior (GL #600551 - $64.95
- now $64.95) Cognac XO Class Recommended by Michael Vaughan Recommended by Michael Vaughan Recommended by Michael Vaughan Recommended by Michael Vaughan 91 • Courvoisier
Cognac XO Imperial (GL #158865 - $181.05
- now $214.95) 90 • Otard
Cognac XO (V #67470 - $119.95
- currently not available at the
LCBO) 88 •Chabasse
Cognac XO (GL #576413 - $139.10
- now $132.50) Grande Reserve Cognac Class 97 • Hennessy
Cognac ‘Richard’ (V #438929 - $1899.00
- now $1882.95) Recommended by Michael Vaughan Recommended by Michael Vaughan
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