Should you collect fine cognac?

Prices for the rarest cognacs still lag those for Scotch whisky. The collectable market for the latter boomed during the era of ultra-low interest rates and, in any case, the whisky market is quite a bit bigger. Scotland exported £5.6 billion worth of whisky in 2023 against almost €3 billion (£2.5 billion) in annual sales for cognac, as of last month’s data. Of that, 97% of cognac is exported – 31% to China. Days earlier, Beijing had retaliated against European Union tariffs of up to 35% on its electric cars by threatening similar taxes on European brandy (of which 99% comes from France – ie, Cognac). Things may yet get worse. “As America and China sharpen the knives over a simmering trade war that threatens to engulf the [EU]... [cognac, that] famed French tipple, faces being caught in the crossfire,” says Henry Samuel in The Telegraph.

But in spite of the gloom (or maybe because of it), prices for rare cognac have been rising in recent years. In 2020, Sotheby’s sold a bottle distilled in 1792 for £118,580 to set the current auction record. And last February, Martell, the oldest of the “big four” auction houses (along with Hennessy, Courvoisier and Rémy Martin) released a dame-jeanne (a large glass flask) of rare cognac, priced at €1 million. It promised to repeat the feat every year. In another sign that the market is maturing nicely, auction house Christie’s recently published a collector’s guide to buying cognac on its website, ahead of the sale of a single bottle of 72-year-old Martell, which fetched £32,500. That’s pretty old as cognacs go.

The grape ugni blanc (called trebbiano in Italy) is used to make 98% of the high-acidity, low-alcohol white wine that goes into making cognac. A handful of other grape types may also be used, according to the rules. The wine undergoes a double-distillation process, called the repasse in French, in which the brouillis (the distillate) is distilled a second time, with each step known as the chauffe (heating) to be completed no later than 31 March after the grapes were harvested. Impurities are removed and the eau de vie, at up to 73.7% in alcoholic strength to account for the evaporation, is put into casks of French Limousin or Tronçais oak for a minimum of two years. During that time, the clear spirit darkens as it ages and takes on the flavours from the wood. After two years, the cognac can be bottled with the label VS (very special), VSOP (very superior old pale) after four years, Napoléon after six years, XO (extra old) after a decade, and XXO (extra, extra old – also sometimes referred to as hors d’âge) after at least 14 years in the cask.

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The crus of Cognac

Sometime around 1860, a French geologist named Henri Coquand teamed up with a local wine buff to examine the terroir in the cognac-making region. Coquand identified six distinct areas (crus) and these became officially recognised in 1938. Depending on how the cognac is blended, they may be stated on the bottle label as having come from:

Grande Champagne

Considered the crème de la crème of the crus, the hills and crumbly chalk soil of the Grande Champagne area are excellent for producing the acidic white wine used in making cognac. The eau de vie is said to have a “predominately floral bouquet”, according to the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC), the industry trade body. But it also needs to spend a longer time in the oak casks to mature fully.

Petite Champagne

Petite Champagne is actually a larger area in terms of acreage than its Grande neighbour. But the limestone-chalk soil here is denser and the terrain flatter. Wines from Petite Champagne are also highly regarded, but the eau de vie doesn’t show quite the same level of finesse. “Fine Champagne” comprises a blend of Petite Champagne and at least 50% Grande Champagne.

Borderies

The smallest of the crus by area and the one closest to the town of Cognac, the soil is a mixture of limestone and clay, known as groies. The cognac made from the grapes grown in the Borderies requires less ageing than those grown in the Champagne areas and the wine is “round” and “aromatic” with a “bouquet of violets”, according to the BNIC.

Fins Bois

In the northern part of the Fins Bois, the soil is similar to that of the Borderies and its groies, while in the south, the soil is a bit more chalky. The eau de vie made from the grapes grown here is “round” and “supple” with a “fruity bouquet reminiscent of pressed grapes” and it ages relatively fast.

Bons Bois

The eau de vie produced from the grapes grown in the Bons Bois are quite diverse with the soil being everything from rocky to sandy. The area is also divided between its maritime climate in the west and its continental climate in the east. Bois Ordinaires: Also known as Bois à Terroirs, the grapes grown here are more affected by the winds coming off the Atlantic. The resulting eau de vie has “fruity aromas”.

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