Reviews of wines and spirits for the curious drinker.
Gran Gala belongs to the same general family as Grand Marnier: rather than putting orange flavor into a neutral alcohol base, such as Cointreau, it combines orange with aged brandy. Sazerac describes it as VSOP Italian brandy infused with fresh-orange flavors, producing a full-bodied, sweet, velvety orange liqueur. It’s a substantial 40% ABV, unusually high for an inexpensive liqueur.
Torres Brandy is the spirits arm of Familia Torres, the large, still-family-controlled Catalan wine company founded in 1870. The spirits division is now formally presented as Juan Torres Master Distillers, and brandy production dates to 1928.
Torres Brandy is the spirits arm of Familia Torres, the large, still-family-controlled Catalan wine company founded in 1870. The spirits division is now formally presented as Juan Torres Master Distillers, and brandy production dates to 1928.
Delord grows grapes, makes wine, distills, ages, blends, and bottles Armagnac in the tiny village of Lannepax, in the Bas-Armagnac appellation. And unlike some producers whose “family tradition” has become mostly marketing hype, the Delord family remains directly involved. The current operation represents the fourth generation. Continue reading “Delord Armagnac”
Artages is made by the Yerevan Brandy Company [YBC], that did more than any other to define what Armenian brandy means, first within the Russian Empire, then the Soviet Union, and now internationally. It has roughly 140 years of institutional ancestry, exceptionally deep stocks, control over grape procurement and distillation, indigenous grape varieties, a distinctive oak regime, its own cooperage, and a highly developed blending culture.
This brandy is a product of the Armenian wine-and-brandy factory Shaumyan-Vin, in the Ararat Valley. The distillery was established in 1927 and reconstituted in 2002.
Shahumyan-Vin uses five grape varieties for its brandies: Kangun, Rkatsiteli, Azateni, Megrabuyr, and Mskhali. These are grown in the Ararat Valley, and harvesting begins around mid-October. The grapes are hand-picked, sorted/inspected, gently pressed, and fermented in 50 to 200 hectoliter vessels. Continue reading “Boduen Brandy”
Cellar master Pierre Vaudon took over the Voyer Cognac house from the founding family after working on its blends for many years, and now owns it with his wife Anne-Marie.
François Voyer is in Verrières, right in Grande Champagne, the premier cru of Cognac. The family’s viticultural roots there go back roughly 200 years, while actual distillation by the Chauchet-Voyer family is generally dated to the 1870s. Paul André was among the relatively unusual growers of the late 19th century who distilled his own wine rather than simply selling it to a négociant. So, Voyer was able to amass stocks of its own mature eaux-de-vie rather than functioning primarily as a brand buying young spirits and assembling them.
Pasquinet is a family-rooted Grande Champagne producer/distiller based at Domaine du Foucaudat in Juillac-le-Coq, with estate vineyards, its own distilling tradition, old stocks, and a history stretching back well before the Pasquinet brand itself was created. The primary terroir is Grande Champagne, Cognac’s premier cru, with an estate size of about 22 hectares (54 acres). Continue reading “Pasquinet VS Cognac”
Celebrity-backed brandy and Cognac is a notable and growing trend, heavily propelled by hip-hop culture and high-profile music and sports partnerships. High-visibility labels like Jay-Z’s D’USSÉ and 50 Cent’s Branson Cognac have proven that celebrity ownership can turn niche or traditional French spirits into major market contenders.
Couvignac is produced by Distillerie de Chevanceaux/SVE (Société des Vins et Eaux-de-Vie), a long-established family distillery in Saint-Palais-de-Négrignac, south of Cognac. It is a substantial, multigenerational, family-owned Cognac distiller, grower, blender, cellar operator, and spirits producer whose roots lie in supplying and producing eaux-de-vie rather than building an internationally famous Cognac house name. The Cognac distillery at the present site was founded in 1896 by Louis Gautriaud, formerly a bouilleur de cru—essentially a grower-distiller. His son Ernest took over after 1926, followed by grandson Robert after 1956. The company’s own modern family history traces the family’s involvement in growing, distilling, aging, and blending Cognac back further, to 1830. Julien Nau and his sister Marie represent the latest generation of the family. Continue reading “Couvignac VS Cognac”
Maison Monnet is one of those Cognac houses that is much better known in Europe than in the United States. It has a legitimate historical pedigree, an unusually interesting connection to European history, and a recognizable house style built around fruit, flowers, warmth, and softness rather than aggressive oak. Monnet itself describes this as its “sunny” style.
Bache Gabrielsen VS Tre Kors (“Three Crosses”) is a particularly interesting VS because there’s a genuine story behind the name, and the Cognac itself is more characterful than I’d expect from a basic VS [Very Special].
Bache Gabrielsen is unusual among Cognac houses because its roots are Norwegian rather than French. Thomas Bache-Gabrielsen came to Cognac from Norway in 1903, at about age 20, initially to develop his family’s wine-and-spirits business. He met his future wife Odette, the daughter of local winegrowers, and decided to remain in France. In 1905, Thomas and fellow Norwegian Peter Rustad bought the existing Cognac house A. Edmond Dupuy, which dated to 1852. That became Maison Bache Gabrielsen. (The origin story of Bache Gabrielsen is curiously similar to that of the Cognac house founded by Jens Reidar Larsen.)
Carvalho, Ribeiro & Ferreira is one of the historic names in Portuguese wine-based spirits, and 1920 is its inexpensive, everyday brandy rather than its prestigious old aguardentes. It has a surprisingly tangled history, though—and there are some contradictory stories in circulation about exactly how the name “1920” originated.
Trésor Fédéral VSOP is an entry-level Moldovan grape brandy that has only recently appeared in the U.S. market. It isn’t widely known among brandy enthusiasts, and there is relatively little publicly available information compared with established brandy names like St-Rémy, Torres, or a slew of Cognac producers. Here’s what I pieced together from importer information, retailers, and Moldovan brandy traditions.
Larsen is one of Cognac’s more distinctive houses—not because it is one of the oldest, but because it combines a Nordic heritage with a very elegant, fruit-driven Cognac style. While houses such as Hennessy, Martell, Rémy Martin, and Courvoisier trace their roots back to the 18th century, Larsen was founded in 1926 by a Norwegian adventurer, making it a relative newcomer with an unusually international identity. Continue reading “Larsen Aqua Ignis Cognac”