Long Live the ‘King'
Cognac Reigns Supreme over Brandies
By Jules Guaglardi • photo by john mazey

The English wit Samual Johnson once observed, “Claret is the liquor for boys, port for men; but he who aspires to be a hero must drink brandy.” The most heroic brandy of all is France's celebrated cognac. Its name evokes visions of crystal snifters, leather easy chairs, and a blazing fire. And no repast, however posh, is quite complete without it.

Cognac is the brandy of kings and king of brandies. For four centuries, it has been synonymous with affluence and refinement. There are many spirits distilled from wine, but only one – made by time-honored methods in a strictly delimited region in southwest France – is allowed to bear the name cognac.

All the world's cognac comes from two counties north of Bordeaux – the Charente and Charente Maritime. The region is prosaic, a monotonous expanse of farmlands, vineyards, and villages. The city of Cognac remains much as it was in the days of Francis I, the Renaissance king who was born in a palace here in 1492 – today the headquarters of a cognac company. The tallest building in town is the 12th century church tower. There is still no railroad station here for fear that a train's stray spark could ignite the city's highly flammable brandy stocks.

Cognac is the name for the Cugna, a Gallic tribe that settled here well before the birth of Christ. The Romans arrived in the 1st century, bringing with them the art of wine making. The names of many towns in the area end in ac, the Latin word for “spring.” But it wasn't until the 1400s – and then by accident – that Charente wine made its immortal leap to cognac.

The Charente, with its flat, marshy coast, was an important center of salt making. By the 15th century, merchant vessels from the Netherlands sailed here to take on salt and the local wine, which was popular with the seamen. In the Middle Ages, liquor was taxed not by alcohol content, but by volume. So the clever Charentais distilled their wine to minimize the taxes. Once in the Netherlands, the wine was supposed to be reconstituted by adding water. But the brandy tasted so good by itself, the Dutch never bothered to add water.

The discovery of brandy was made possible, curiously enough, by the abstemious followers of Islam. The Arabs distilled mineral ores into a black eye shadow called kohl. From the minerals to wine was a small step, and by the 13th century, al kohl had become “alcohol.”

The principle was simple: Water boils at 212 degrees, ethyl alcohol at 173. One had but to heat wine to an intermediary temperature, and the alcohol would rise up as a vapor. This vapor was condensed in a lamic: what emerged was the “soul,” or spiritus of the wine – our present day “spirits.” The Dutch called the distillate brandewijn – literally “burned wine” – which eventually was shortened to brandy.

Cognac begins with the grapes that carpet the Charentaise countryside. The principal variety is the ugni blanc – known in Italy as trebbiano. Grape growing here is unique in two ways: Irrigation is forbidden and the grapes are harvested before fully ripe. The resulting wine – sour and weak, with 8 percent, not the usual 12 percent alcohol – is sharp and unpleasant if drunk by itself. Since distillation eliminates seasonal flaws, there is no such thing as a good or bad vintage in cognac. But there are inferior and superior vineyards.

The best brandy comes from the Grande and Petite Champagne in the very heart of the Charente. The terrain is hilly, the soil calcareous, and the maritime climate is clement. The brandies made here are long-lived, often aged 40 to 50 years. So prized are these growing areas that cognacs made exclusively from their grapes warrant a special appellation: fine Champagne.

The wine is distilled in a Charantais pot still, which has remained basically unchanged for three centuries. Each onion-shaped still is made by hand entirely of copper. The wine is heated by an open flame – electricity is forbidden by law. The alcohol vapors pass through the “swan's neck” – the tube-shaped crown of the still – to the water-cooled “serpent” or coil, where they are recondensed into brandy. The procedure is exhausting: The still runs for 12 continuous hours and must be scrubbed between each batch of brandy.

Unlike most spirits – save scotch – cognac is distilled twice for extra purity. It emerges from the still at 140-proof, double the strength at which we actually drink it – and is worthy of the medieval name aqua ardens or “fire water.”

The maitre de chai serves simulaneously as a spirit broker, cellar master, inventory clerk, taster, blender, and quality-control man. To him falls the ambitious task of producing a consistent product, year after year, decade after decade, using raw materials that are never the same. He accomplishes this through a complex process of barrel-aging and blending. The task requires the snail-like patience for which the region's inhabitants are famous. Maitre de chais is a highly respected profession, passed on from grandfather to father to son. The Fillioux family has provided Hennessy with the maitres de chais for eight continous generations.

Each barrel costs $4,000. The oak comes from forests in the Limousin and Troncais areas. The wood is split with an ax – not sawn – into rough staves, which are cured outdoors and exposed to the elements. Each barrel is assembled by hand, as it was centuries ago, without the use of glue or a single nail.

As cognac ages in oak, its flavor mellows and intensifies. The wood extracts bitter tannins, adding a subtle scent of vanilla (vanillin is a chemical naturally found in oak). Air sweeps through the porous wood and gently oxidizes the brandy. Young cognac is aged in virgin casks, and as the years go by, it is transferred to successively older barrels that are aligned in neat rows in warehouses that are remarkable for their lack of modern machinery.

The blending of brandies from the same year – but different vineyards – constitutes the “engagement.” The final step is marrying the different vintages. A finished cognac can contain up to 50 individual brandies. Distilled water is added to reduce the cognac to the desired 80 proof.

The amount of brandy currently aging in Cognac would fill something over a billion bottles. Every year about 3 percent of it evaporates through the pores in the wood. The locals have an appropriate name for the lost vapors: la part des angus, “the angel's share.” Last year, the angel's share amounted to 200,000 bottles. These lost vapors are responsible for the heady aroma that permeates the city. They also account for the dark roofs of the farms and warehouses, caused by the black fungus, torrula cognacenses. Torrula lives solely on brandy fumes and is only found in Cognac. Bootlegging is non-existent here for the simple reason that the fungus would give the lawbreaker away.

Cognac firms in the Charente range from the giant Hennessy, with annual sales of 2 million cases – to farmer-distillers, who produce a few thousand bottles a year. There is no such thing as a “best” cognac: each company has its own distinct style. Choosing your favorite is best determined by conscientious tasting. Below are the four grades of cognac designated by French law. These official grades reliably indicate the true age.

• V.S. (also known as “very superior” or “three star”):
This is the least expensive cognac. Its youngest com- ponent has a minimum age of three years in the barrel.

• V.S.O.P. (also know as “very superior old pale” or reserve”): The youngest brandy in this one must have spent four years in wood; the average is 12-20 years.

• X.O. (also known as “extra old,” “extra old reserve” or W.S.O.P.): The legal minimum is six years here, but the average is apt to be 20-40.

• Fine Champagne: A cognac made exclusively with grapes from the Grande and Petite Champagne growing areas.

These official grades do not do justice to the true age of the cognac. A typical X.O. will contain some 6-year-old brandy, but older spirits will predominate. The firms are forbidden by law to list a precise age or vintage.

Cognac, unlike wine, does not improve in the bottle. The flask should be stored upright at room temperature to keep the brandy away from the cork. Do not keep an open bottle of cognac for a long period of time – especially if there is a lot of air space. The brandy will lose edge and superior flavor. Cognac tastes best when gently warmed by cupping the glass in your hand. The professionals disparage such violent heat sources as alcohol lamps or candles. The Charentais recommend using a small tulip-shaped glass a snifter that fits comfortably in the palm of your hand.

Place the glass six inches from your face and gently savor the aroma. Do not plunge your nose directly in the glass, lest the fumes overwhelm your palate. Now take a sip and “chew” it with closed lips before swallowing.