Cognac/Armagnac

BRANDY
Name	Region	Maltmileage Score
1.    Normandin Mercier Très Vieille Grande Ch. 2.    Courvoisier 21 Year Old 3.    Hine Antique XO 4.    Hennessy Paradis 5.    Normandin Mercier Extra Grande Ch. 6.    Normandin Mercier Extra Petite Ch. 7.    Janneau XO Royal 8.    Francis Darroze 1959 51 Year Old 9.    Courvoisier XO imperial 10.  Martell Cordon Bleu 11.  Normandin Mercier XO 12.  Hine VSOP 13.  Hennessy VS 14.  Francois Voyer 25 Years 15.  Chabot XO 16.  Francois Voyer Napoleon 15 Years  17.  Chateau Tariquet Folle Blanche 12 years 18.  Normandin Mercier La Péraudière 19.  Delord Bas-Armagnac 1985 20.  Nismes Delclou Armagnac XO 21.  Janneau VSOP 22.  Hennessy XO 23.  Camus "Borderies" XO 24.  Francois Voyer Terre Grande Champagne 25.  Camus “Elegance” XO 26.  Louis Royer XO 27.  H by Hine 28.  Meukow XO 29.  Louis Royer VSOP 30.  Meukow VSOP 31.  Meukow Vanilla 32.  St Agnes Brandy	Cognac, France Cognac, France Cognac, France Cognac, France Cognac, France Cognac, France Armagnac, France Armagnac, France Cognac, France Cognac, France Cognac, France Cognac, France Cognac, France Cognac, France Armagnac, France Cognac, France Armagnac, France Cognac, France Armagnac, France Armagnac, France Cognac, France Armagnac, France Cognac, France Cognac, France Cognac, France Cognac, France Cognac, France Cognac, France Cognac, France Cognac, France Cognac, France Australia	98 97 95 94 94 93 92 91 90 90 90 89 88 88 87 87 87 86 86 85 84 83 82 82 80 80 80 80 79 77 70 62
GREEN – Highly recommended AMBER – Recommended RED – Not recommended   *Full reviews are available here

 

What is Cognac/Armagnac? 

Cognac and Armagnac are French brandy from the Cognac region and Armagnac region of France respectively. However, the region they are from is not the only difference between the two. 

Map of Cognac, source: Wikipedia

Cognac is usually distilled twice as opposed to Armagnac which is mostly distilled only once, so it tends to be smoother than Armagnac’s of a similar age. For a brandy to be called a cognac it must be made from authorized grapes, twice distilled in copper stills and aged in French oak barrels for at least two years. Like whisky, cognac is aged until it reaches what the distiller considers to be its peak or another time appropriate for bottling. The cognac region is comprised of six zones, or "cru": Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Borderies, Fins Bois, Bois Ordinaire and Bon Bois. 

Armagnac is commonly distilled only once unlike Cognac which is distilled twice, and produced from specific authorized grapes. Like whisky, the spirit is then aged in oak barrels. 

Cognac and Armagnac branded VSOP have been aged for five years and the XO have been aged for six. 

When buying a Cognac, it is important to be aware of its age (remember, just because something is labelled "XO" does not guarantee that all the cognac is "old" - it just means that the cognac is at least 6 years old unless otherwise stated) and appellation or cru. Cognac from Grande Champagne has long been considered to be the finest, closely followed by Petite Champagne. The differences between the crus are the result of their different soil, and the fact that Grande Champagne has more chalky soil. 

Cognac appellation/cru	Terrain features	Eau-de-vie features
Grande Champagne	Uneven ground, chalky soil, less compact	Finesse, floral bouquet, fruit notes
Petite Champagne	Chalky soil, compact	Less finesse than Grande Champagne, floral and fruity
Borderies	Flat, clay, flint stones	Fine, floral (mostly violets), rounded
Fins Bois	Clay, limestone, mixed soil, red coloured and stony  chalky/clay soil	Rounded, smooth, fruity
Bons Bois	Mixed soil, sand, clay, limestone	Fruity
Bois Ordanaries	Predominately sand	Coastal character, quick aging