Reviews of wines and spirits for the curious drinker.
Armenia has one of the most interesting brandy traditions outside of France. What makes it unusual is that Armenian brandy was deliberately modeled on Cognac from the beginning—Charentais pot stills, double distillation, long oak aging and blending—but developed a distinctly Armenian character through indigenous grapes, climate, and Caucasian oak.
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.
The house traces its origins to 1838, but the business that became Monnet actually began as the Société des Propriétaires Vinicoles de Cognac, a cooperative organized by Pierre-Antoine de Salignac and local growers. Jean-Gabriel Monnet took control in 1897, and the J.-G. Monnet name began appearing as a brand shortly thereafter. Continue reading “Monnet VS Cognac”
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.)
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”
Cognac has been sold under the Ferrand name since the 18th century, spanning 10 generations of producers, beginning with the birth of the first Elie Ferrand in the small town of Segonzac in 1630 (nine more Elies would follow). In 1989, Alexandre Gabriel partnered with Pierre Ferrand, the living heir of the family, to develop a line of Cognacs. Once Pierre Ferrand retired in 1993, Gabriel became sole proprietor. Continue reading “Ferrand 1840 Cognac”
Is this one of the best bargains in French brandy? Maybe. Maybe not.
When most spirits enthusiasts hear the name Gran Gala, they immediately think of the popular Italian orange liqueur often compared to Grand Marnier. What many drinkers don’t realize is that Gran Gala also produces an authentic French cognac—a surprisingly affordable bottle. At a time when many well-known cognac brands command prices of $40, $50, or significantly more for their entry-level offerings, Gran Gala VS often sells for less than $25. That price alone makes it worthy of a closer look.
H by Hine VSOP Cognac
H by Hine is a selection from Hine Cognac, a distinguished brand with a rich history which traces its origins back to the 18th century. Thomas Hine, a young Englishman from Dorset, traveled to France to learn French and the art of making cognac. He settled in the town of Jarnac, in the heart of the Cognac region, where he fell in love with and subsequently married Françoise Elisabeth Delamain, the daughter of a famous cognac négociant (a person or firm that sells or ships wine as a wholesaler).
Rémy Martin is one of the world’s oldest and best known cognac brands, with selections that range, at my local liquor store at least, from the $13 St. Remy French brandy to the $9000 Rémy Martin Louis XIII Time Collection: City of Lights – 1900. (I have tried one of these, but not both.)
First, let’s talk about brandy vs. Cognac. Brandy is a liquor distilled from wine and aged in wood. (Brandy can be made from fruits other than grapes as well, but that’s a story for another time.) Cognac is brandy that specifically comes from the town of Cognac and the delimited surrounding areas in western France. (The one which has the most favorable soil and geographical conditions is Grande Champagne.) So, all Cognacs are brandy, but not all brandies are Cognac. For more detail on brandy and Cognac, click here.
First, let’s talk about brandy vs. Cognac. Brandy is a liquor distilled from grape wine and aged in wood. (Brandy can be made from fruits other than grapes as well, but that’s a story for another time.) Cognac is brandy that specifically comes from the town of Cognac and the delimited surrounding areas in western France. (The one which has the most favorable soil and geographical conditions is Grande Champagne.) So, all Cognacs are brandy, but not all brandies are Cognac. For more detail on brandy and Cognac, click here.
Obviously, I enjoy wine, but I’m a fan of liquor too, especially brandy. Brandy is distilled from wine and aged in wood to give it its characteristic flavor and color. The word brandy comes from the Dutch brandewijin, meaning “burned (distilled) wine.” It is usually made from grape wine, but can be distilled from other fruit wines, most often apple, in which case it is called apple brandy or applejack generically and Calvados in France. Cognac is brandy that specifically comes from the town of Cognac and the delimited surrounding areas in western France. So, all Cognacs are brandy, but not all brandies are Cognac. For more detail on Cognac, click here.