cognac & armagnac france. cognac, france cognac: france’s best-known brandy peaceful...
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Cognac, France
• Cognac: France’s best-known brandy
• Peaceful countryside 100 miles north of Bordeaux
• Medieval town with elegant Renaissance facades
• Pastoral landscape with stone farmhouses along the fields
• Region also known for its butter, snails, natural sea salts, and brandy
• Brandy: ("burnt wine") is a spirit produced by distilling wine
Cognac Overview • Drinks must be made according to strictly-defined regulations
to be named Cognac
• Consists of six vineyard growth areas, called ‘Crus’:
1. Grande Champagne *Best Growth 2. Petite Champagne 3. Borderies 4. Fins Bois 5. Bon Bois 6. Bois Ordinaire
• Cognac second biggest wine region of France, right after Bordeaux
• “Origine Controlée Cognac” (AOC) appellation totals 790 million square meters of vineyards
Growth Area / Cru Size Characteristics
Grande Champagne34 700 hectares / 13 250 ha covered with vineyards
Some hills, and chalky soil
Petite Champagne65 600 ha / 15 250 ha covered with vineyards
Chalky but more compact than the Grande Champagne
Borderies12 500 ha / 4 000 ha covered with vineyards
It’s a plateau with clay and flint stones
Fins Bois350 000 ha / 31 200 ha covered with vineyards
Mixed soil: red, clay and limestone
Bons Bois370 000 ha / 9 300 ha covered with vineyards
Very mixed soils, clay, limestone, sands
Bois Ordinaires260 000 ha / 1066 ha covered with vineyards
Mainly sand soils, including islands Ile de Ré and Ile d’Oléron
6 Crus of the Cognac Region
Cognac Process
• Each Cru has different fragrance - flowers, green fruits (apple, pear), grapes
• Produced by blending a variety of "Eau de Vie”
• Eau de Vie: French for “water of life.” A clear, colorless fruit brandy that is produced by means of fermentation and double distillation
• 98% of the Cognac vineyards are planted with Ugni Blanc
• Ugni Blanc: produces wines with elevated levels of acidity and low alcohol, fairly neutral in taste
Cognac Process • The Cognac Still: known as alambic
Charentaise
• Distillation process:1. Heat wine until it boils2. Purely condense its vapors3. Reconvert this steam into liquid
form again4. Repeat 2nd distillation or Bonne
Chauffe
• Quality controlled by length of time Cognac is matured in oak barrels
• The longer the Cognac matures barrel, the smoother it is
• Once bottled, no further development takes place
Armagnac, France• Armagnac: grape brandy from the
Gascony region of southwestern France
• One of the first areas to begin distilling spirits
• Granted AOC status in 1936
• Situated between the Atlantic and the Pyrénées Mountains
• Generous amount of sunshine through winter, rainfall in the spring which nourishes vineyards with a warm summer
• Volume of production is far smaller than Cognac production
Armagnac • Official production areas divided into 3 districts:
1. Bas-Armagnac • Grapes grow in acidic, argillaceous and stony ground• Iron rust colors parts of the soil
2. Armagnac-Ténarèze• Soil consists mainly of limestone, sand and clay• The Ténarèze distillate is considered to be the strongest-tasting
Armagnac
3. Haut-Armagnac• Area is called "white Armagnac" because of the abundance of
limestone• Vineyards are scattered like islands over the chalky clay hills
Armagnac Process • 4 grapes commonly used:
1. Folle Blanche: light-to-medium-bodied wine low in alcohol (7%-9%), high in acidity
2. Ugni Blanc: produces wines with elevated levels of acidity and low alcohol, fairly neutral in taste• Comprises ≈ 55% of the grapes used for
Armagnac• Contain pleasing floral aromatics that tend to
accentuate the spice notes from the oak
3. Colombard: aroma is slightly herbal and reminiscent of freshly mown hay
4. Bacco: full-bodied, with plenty of fat and volume• With age expresses jammy dried plum notes
• Different grapes = different aromas, flavors, and different weights and textures on the palate
Armagnac Process • Use a single continuous distillation rather than
double batch distillation
• Distillation process:1. Heat wine until it boils2. Purely condense its vapors3. Reconvert this steam into liquid form
again
• Retains earthy and fruity flavors in the finished spirit
• Gains much of its character and flavor during aging
• Quality is dependent on the period of time the brandy spends in wood
• As it matures, it turns from being a clear to an amber color
• Absorbs tannins and other flavors from the oak
• A.C.: 2 years old, aged in wood
• V.O., Very Old: Aged minimum of 4 years
• V.S., Very Special: Aged 3 years in wooden casks, often called Three Star
• V.S.O.P., Very Superior Old Pale: Minimum aging 8 years in wood for youngest blend - industry average is between 10 and 15 years old, known as Five Star
• X.O., Extra Old: Also called Luxury, minimum age of 8 years.
• Napoleon/Extra/Vielle Reserve: At least 4 years old=
• Varietal: Made using only one type of varietal grape
• Vintage: Aged and bottled in the year of the vintage
• Hors d'Age: Too old to figure out the age; true gem
Grades of Cognac & Armagnac
Summary: Basic Differences • Grapes
– Armagnac grapes split between Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche, Colombard, and Bacco
– Cognac grapes comprised of 98% Ugni Blanc
• Geography– Armagnac's best grapes grown on sandy soil in warm temperatures – Cognac's best grapes grown on chalky soil with mild temperatures
• Distillation– Armagnac often single-distilled in a alambic– Cognac required to be twice distilled in a pot still
• Vintage– Traditional Armagnac given a vintage date – Cognac vintages extremely rare – usually a blend of various vintages
• Single Varietal– Single-varietal Armagnac is common, especially Folle Blanche– One rarely sees a varietal printed on a Cognac label
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