As any lover of
cognac knows the tipple comes from only the
very best of grapes and must meet strict criteria to carry the label.
If you have a passion for this drink then you may already know that it matures for at least two years in some of the finest French Oak casks. If you have a passion for brandy, you are in the same company as millions of individuals around the world who enjoy the
luxury of a glass of the best brandy.
Here you can enjoy some of the
very best features on
cognac online. Gets tips and information on how to choose a
luxury cognac and much more. Welcome to our world of only the
very best associated with this superb tipple.
To be able to carry the name of crus it must at the very least have 90% Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche and Colombard.
cognac which will not have the cru associated with them is more free when it comes to the choice of grapes to use. These can have Colobar, Folle Blanche, Jurancon blanc, Ugni Blanc and Meslier Saint Francois among others.
Once the grapes used for the
cognac are pressed the juice of the grapes is then left for three weeks and the wild yeast coverts the sugar to alcohol. During this process the
cognac is roughly 8% alcohol. The distillation process takes place in the traditional copper stills which have the name of alembic and the dimensions of these are also strictly controlled. Two distillations are needed for the
cognac and the result of this is a colorless spirit which is roughly 70% alcohol.
Following the distillation aging must take place and the cognac is left to age in barrels for a period of at least two years before it can be put on the shelf and sold to the public. This process allows the cognac to interact with the barrel and the air inside. It evaporates at a very slow rate of around 3% each year. Both the alcohol and water dissipate but the alcohol does so faster and so the cognac reaches its 40% target volume in about four or five decades. Today it is transferred over to glass carboys and stored for future blending rather than in oak barrels.
When it comes to age this is decided by the youngest eau de vie that has been used in the blend of the
cognac. The blend usually consists of all different ages and often from many different local areas. The blending is a very important process in order to be able to attain the complexity of flavors that it is well known for. Due to this each of the houses producing the
cognac has its own master taster and it is they who are responsible for the creation of it. This is not an easy task when you bear in mind that a certain brand has to have the same taste over many years. In other words the master taster has to ensure that the
cognac tastes the same today as it did 40 or so years ago. There are a few that do not blend their
cognac from different ages to ensure they produce a purer flavor this is the equivalent of the production of a single cask Scotch whiskey.
There are also numerous vineyards in the region of
cognac that sell their own blends. These are typically blended for the eaux de vie of many different years but they are always single vineyard
cognac and these invariable vary slightly each year according to whoever has made them. These of course are unpredictable and very unlike the many
very best names known today. Depending on the success of these when it comes to marketing some small producers sell large quantities to collectors, dealers and restaurants. Some also sell to other blenders in some of the larger houses. Some of these have been largely successful which has led some of the larger scale producers of
cognac to produce single vineyards themselves.
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