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Now more and more domestic drinkers have begun to drink spirits, according to the data of the China Liquor Importers and Exporters Branch, the largest import last year was brandy (Brandy).
Source: Liquor Importers and Exporters Branch
Brandy is an interesting kind of wine, with the stimulation of spirits and the expression of terroir like wine. For a long time in Europe, brandy was used as a symbol of nobility.
About brandy, everyone must have heard a lot of words, what cognac, Armagna, XO, Grand Champagne, Hennessy… What are these? Don’t worry, today we start with the aristocracy of nobles – Cognac, and take you to become a quick Cognac expert in one article.
What is Cognac?
First of all, cognac is a type of brandy.
So, what is brandy?
Broadly speaking, brandy refers to all
Spirits made from fruits, fermented and distilled
。 The English name of brandy “Brandy” is derived from the Dutch word “Brandewijn”, which means “burned wine”, as the name suggests, it is distilled liquor. So in the brandy family, not only grapes can make brandy, but also apple brandy, cherry brandy, pomace brandy and so on.
In a narrow sense, brandy generally refers to spirits made from grapes through fermentation, distillation, storage, and blending, that is
Grape brandy
Finish.
The brandy we mentioned today mainly refers to grape brandy in the narrow sense. There are many grape brandies produced in the world, the best is France, the most famous of the French brandies are cognac and Armagna.
Back to what cognac is
Cognac means from
Cognac production region in France
elapse
Oak barrels are matured
After that
。 Cognac is strictly regulated by the Geographical Indication (GI), and just like champagne, it cannot be called cognac when it leaves the Cognac area.
The production process of cognac involves harvesting white grapes, making wine, distilling 2 times, and maturing in oak barrels for at least 2 years (usually longer).
Most cognac is distilled from different vintages and origins
Base wine
(eaux-de-vie, water of life)
Deployment
Made, according to the age of the wine, it is divided into different grades. The mixing of different vintages ensures consistent quality and unique flavor, and there are very few vintage cognacs.
Can only big wine merchants produce cognac?
Who can produce cognac? Can only big wineries do it? In fact, in addition to wine merchants, some individuals can also produce cognac.
Winegrowers
: Grape growers grow their own grapes and make wine, most of them sell the wine to winemakers, but some make their own cognacs.
Professional winemakers (Distillers)
They buy wine from winegrowers, distill it and sell it, and some do custom distillation for other producers.
Negociants
: There are around 280 cognac merchants who buy raw wines, unaged base wines, or whole barrels of aged cognacs. Wine merchants account for 85% of global cognac sales, and the more familiar Hennessy, Martell, Remy Martin, Courvoisier and others are such wine merchants.
Where is the Cognac region?
The Cognac appellation covers a total area of more than 1 million hectares but only about 78,000 hectares under cultivation, and is located in the region north of Bordeaux in southwestern France, stretching from above Bordeaux to La Rochelle and east-west from the Atlantic Ocean to Angouleme.
Due to its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, it has a stable maritime climate, moderate rainfall throughout the year, an average temperature of 13°C, and light and temperature that are ideal for cognac grapes.
Cognac production is divided into:
6 Taiko production area (also known as CRU)
, Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Borderies, Fins Bois, Bons Bois and Bois Ordinaires or Bois a Terroirs.
These 6 big
child
In the production area,
The raw grapes produced in Grande & Petit Champagne are of the best quality
。
If you see the name of a region on the cognac label, 100% of the wine grapes for this cognac come from that region. However, for Champagne regions, if at least 50% of the grapes come from Grande Champagne, then the label can be labeled “Fine Champagne”, and the rest must come from Petit Champagne.
What grapes are cognac made from?
The grapes used to make cognac are usually extremely acidic and low in sugar and therefore alcohol, in order to meet the requirements of cognac distillation.
There are 6 legally permissible grape varieties in Cognac, which must come from the Cognac region.
Ugni Blanc
: The most important variety of cognac, covering 98% of cognac vineyards, white jade grapes are very disease resistant, high acid and low sugar, can produce light wine, neutral aroma, high acidity (generally between 8-9% abv), is a very suitable for distillation grapes. High acidity is key to ensure good natural ageing potential.
There are also Colombard, Folle Blanche, Folignan, Montils and Semillon.
Some wines labeled with the word “Crus” indicate that at least 90% of them use white jade, white fuer and pigeon white.
How is cognac made?
Cognac production consists of 4 steps: brewing, distillation, maturation and blending.
01、
brewing
The grapes are usually harvested between mid-September and mid-October, usually by machine, and after which high acidity wines with an alcohol content of about 9% abv can be obtained, and sugar and sulfur dioxide can be added during harvesting and fermentation. Therefore, high acidity is required to prevent oxidation and microbial contamination, otherwise the quality of the cognac can be seriously affected. So unlike other wines, the best vintages for cognac are those that are colder so that they can have a high enough acidity.
02、
distillation
The distillation of cognac must be completed by 31 March after harvest and the age of the wine begins on 1 April, when the distillation is complete.
Cognac is distilled in pots and must be made of copper
Charentais Pot Still
Carried out
2 distillations
to get a liquor with an alcohol content of about 70% abv.
Before distillation, you must also consider whether to filter out the lees, which include some pulp and dead yeast. If filtered, the wine will be lighter and purer; If it is not filtered, it will have a richer taste and complexity, and it will be more resistant to aging.
03、
Mature
The law stipulates that cognac must go through at least
2 years oak barrel maturation
, but in fact, the major wine merchants choose to have a longer maturation time. By maturing, these spirits can complete the evolution from “water of life” to “cognac”.
Oak barrel maturation is the main way to obtain flavor from cognac
When maturing in the barrel, some of the flavor substances brought by the oak barrel will dissolve in the wine and will also bring some color to the wine. At the same time, the wine undergoes slow oxidation in oak barrels, and over time, the aroma of the wine changes continuously, and some aged aromas gradually develop.
Many factors can influence this process, such as the origin of the oak, the age of the barrels, the location of the warehouse and barrels, the humidity in the cellar, and so on. Like whisky, cognac has an “Angel’s Share” with a loss rate of about 3% per year.
We wrote before:
Cognac aged in oak barrels, what happened in between?
04、
Cognac is the art of blending, and the vast majority of cognacs are blended with the water of life from different vintages and vineyards to achieve balance, complexity and maintain a stable quality. Distilled water is added to dilute the alcohol before bottling, usually to around 40% ABV.
Grading of cognac
Even when you haven’t drunk cognac, everyone must have heard of the title XO, which may be as well-known among the people as Lafite in wine, which is a representative of high-end.
So, what exactly does XO stand for in cognac?
According to the time of barrel maturation, cognac is divided into the following grades:
VS: At least 2 years of barrel aging, this grade accounts for more than half of global cognac sales;
VSOP: At least 4 years of barrel aging, accounting for more than 1/3 of global cognac sales;
XO: at least 10 years of barrel aging;
XXO: At least 14 years of barrel aging.
There are other words that may appear on the label to indicate the barrel ageing time:
It should be noted that cognac, unlike wine, does not change after bottling, so it
The age of the wine refers to the aging time of the barrel, and has nothing to do with how long it has been stored after bottling
。 A bottle of VSOP cognac is still VSOP after 10 years and will not become XXO.
There is another category
Vintage Cognacs
As the name suggests, all liquor comes from the same vintage, which is a very rare presence in cognac.
How do you drink cognac?
The tasting of cognac is not much different from that of wine and whisky, and it is all about looking, smelling, tasting, and drinking more freely.
Sidecar cocktails
Most cognacs below XO can be mixed with other beverages, such as water and ice, soda, lemonade or cola. Or use it to make cocktails such as the famous Sidecar, Vieux Carre and Horse’s Neck.
XO and above, including vintage cognacs, are usually drunk to fully appreciate the complex flavors and personalities of cognac.
As for cup selection, the most common use is a brandy cup with a narrow mouth and a big belly. The narrow mouth helps to gather the aroma of cognac in the glass, and its legs are relatively low, because the drinker needs to warm the wine with the temperature in his hand when tasting brandy.
Tulip glasses are also a good choice to better present the rich and complex aroma of the wine while relieving the burning sensation of alcohol.
What are the well-known cognac brands?
Among the cognac brands, the most well-known are the “Four Kings” – Hennessy, Martell, Rémy and Napoleon.
Hennessy
Hennessy is by far the largest cognac producer and the most influential, leading the way in all respects. Now the legal grading of cognac, VS, VSOP, XO, etc., was originally proposed by Hennessy, including the newly added XXO grade.
Martell
Martell is the oldest of the 4 cognac brands, and for many years Martell has been second only to Hennessy in global sales and more popular in the Asian market. Martell has a style of its own, insisting on distilling only pure grapes, so the style is biased towards pure and fruity expressions, which can be regarded as a clear stream in the top cognac world. Today, Martell is owned by Pernod Ricard.
Rémy horse
RÉMY HORSE IS ONE OF THE OLDEST COGNAC BRANDS IN FRANCE, THE MOST ICONIC OF WHICH IS LOUIS XIII. Rémy Ma is the only Cognac brand that is self-produced and operated by the locals of Cognac and one of the few brands to grow its own grapes. And Rémy Martin uses only grapes from the Champagne region and specializes in the production of cognacs of VSOP and above. In 1991, it merged with Cointreau to form Remy Cointreau.
Napoleon
Napoleon cognac is inextricably linked to the historical French emperor Napoleon, and Chinese translated as Napoleon precisely because it was Napoleon’s favorite cognac. Now Napoleon Cognac is part of Suntory.
In addition to the four kings, Camus, Baron Otard, Hine, Frapin, Delamaine and others are also top cognac brands.
Grape brandy
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