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Great Lakes Area Wine Brokerage
Cognac Education
Tasting Cognac -- Step by Step Aging Cognac -- VS, VSOP, XO, etc. Cognac Trivia -- Napoleon who? What Does Grande Champagne Mean?
Single Vineyard Cognac
For the Trade
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Cognac Lovers & Wine Brokers since 1999 |
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1er Cru du Cognac — in French, literally, ‘the 1st Cru of Cognac’ Cru — a French word for Growth Region. There are six different sub-regions (Cru) within Cognac. Each is graded by the French government according to the quality of the cognac produced there. The six Cru are from best to least, (1) Grande Champagne (2) Petite Champagne (3) Borderies (4) Fin Bois (5) Bon Bois and (6) Bois Ordinaires Estate Bottled — Aged and bottled on the Estate which produced the grapes. All of the Cognacs in the Single Vineyard Cognac Collection are Estate Bottled. See also — Single Vineyard (below) Extra — A term used to denote a Cognac older than an XO, although this may be misleading. One producer’s ten-year old XO may be another producer’s VSOP. The terms are not absolute, but only relative within the production of a single producer. But if a producer has an XO in his catalog, then his Extra will be older than his XO, and his VSOP will be younger than the XO. Very few Extra Cognacs are under 18 years old. Fine Champagne — (feen-ay sham-pane) — At least 51% of the grapes which make p the cognac came from Grande Champagne, and not more than 49% came from Petite Champagne. Grande Fine Champagne — the same as Grande Champagne Grande Champagne — the ‘first growth’ area of the Cognac Region. The first Cru is the Grande Champagne — not to be confused with the Champagne Region in Northeast France. The Grande Champagne in Cognac is the appellation where the best Cognacs come from. In general, if a bottle says “Grande Champagne” under the brand name, it can be considered probably a very good cognac. Grand Cru — A marketing term with little meaning in the USA, used to make a consumer think he’s getting something special when he’s not. It also means that all of the grapes which make up the cognac in the bottle came from the same Cru, without regard to which Cru it is. In general, if a producer can advertise a superior Cru on his label, he will. If all the grapes in a particular VS or VSOP came from the Borderies or from the Fin Bois, for example, then the producer could call the cognac “Grand Cru”. Hors d’Age — Literally in French, “of the Ages”. A term given to very old Cognacs if a producer does not want to use the term “Tres Vieux” (below). |
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Napoleon — A producer may call his cognac Napoleon if the Cognac has aged in oak casks for at least 6.5 years. There is no maximum age for a Napoleon. Do not confuse this moniker with that of a “Napoleon Brandy”. There are no aging minimums for Napoleon Brandy — that is strictly up to the producer of the brandy. Product of France — If this appears in print close to the brand name of the Cognac, then the grapes came from anywhere in Cognac — Like bottling a ‘California’ wine when you can’t claim a ‘Napa Valley’ pedigree. If these words appear in very small print and not close to the brand name, then it is verbiage required by the US government for importation purposes to identify the country of origin. Single Distillery — Coming from one distillery. This is different from Single Vineyard (below) in that the grapes for this Cognac could have come from anywhere in the Cognac Region, and simply were distilled all in one place, one single contract distillery. Single Vineyard — Coming from a single vineyard — a single grower/producer. This pedigree is generally not put on a label, but rather it is seen in supporting advertising material. It is taken to mean that the family which grew and harvested the grapes, also distilled and aged the Cognac on their property, then blended and bottled it on the property. This term means the same as Estate Bottled (above) and when used in conjunction with “Grande Champagne”, is the highest pedigree a Cognac can have. Tres Vieux — In French, literally “very old”. A Tres Vieux is generally the oldest Cognac in a producer’s catalog. Many times a Tres Vieux is 50-years old and older. VS — Stands for ‘Very Special’. Generally, this would be the youngest quality in a producer’s catalog. Roughly equivalent to the term “Three Star”, there is no maximum age for a VS Cognac. VSOP — Stands for ‘Very Special, Old Pale’. This term is generally given to the second youngest Cognacs in a producer’s catalog. There is no maximum age for VSOP. XO — Stands for ‘Extra Old’. The term is generally applied to a popularly priced, but lowest of the premium grade Cognacs from a producer. This cognac must spend a minimum of 6.5 years in oak barrels. Few mass-produced XO’s are more than 12-15 years old, and many are younger than that. |
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How To Read A Cognac Label What Does All That Stuff Mean? |
