...and a Cognac Chaser
What can you say about a town that is essentially known for only one thing, including it's name! That's Cognac, France. It's a charming village, a fortified (walled) town in the 9th century, surrounded by vineyards, but dominated by a handful of big time chateaux whose names you may recognize: Camus, Otard, Hennessy, Martell and Remy Martin. Courvoisier is located in a nearby town.
The Cognac appellation is intersected by the Charente River. That's important because it is the route by which the distinct "eau-de-vie" known as cognac is transported to the rest of the world.
Our tour took place at Remy Martin, a beautiful chateau with a very long history. It was founded in 1724. The town was quiet when we got there, old stone buildings with modern street signs pointing the way to the various chateaus. We were met by an enthusiastic, handsome, young man who was well versed in the ways of cognac. He proceeded to take us through several areas of the chateau, teaching us enthusiastically about the history but mostly the process used to make cognac. And then there was the tasting. 😀 More on that later.
Entrance sign at Chateau Remy Martin
Cognac is made from up to five grades of grapes. Remy uses only the top two: grande champagne and petite champagne. The grapes themselves are mostly of the white variety - ugni blanc, folle blanche and columbard. You may never have heard of them because on their own they don't make particularly good wine. There are 75,000 hectares (185,329 acres) of vineyards in the Cognac appellation.
Walking through the chateau, we saw large barrels used for aging the cognac. It is distilled twice to increase the alcohol content and then aged in oak casks, at a minimum for 30 months and sometimes for over a hundred years! The secret to each cognac is the blending of various vintages. The responsibility of blending belongs to the cellar master who assures that the distinctive style and character of each chateau's cognac is preserved.
As we walked we came to a large door and our tour guide told us to turn off all cameras, cell phones etc. This was not for security issues but rather to keep from blowing the place up! It was the room that housed the oldest casks, vintages that could be used by the cellar master to make the top of the line "Louis XIII" cognac. Because the casks are not totally airtight, some of the alcohol and water escapes over the years, the "angel's share". This makes for a very high alcohol content in the air, thus the danger of an explosion from any type of spark or heat. The aroma of the room was somewhat divine. The walls were blackened by a local mold that thrives on the alcohol-filled air. There were cobwebs everywhere! The very large, dark room has never been cleaned in hundreds of years so as not to disturb the fermentation process.
Then it was on to the beautiful, modern tasting room, with warm lighting and big windows. Large trays of glasses with a cognac taste in each one were set out. Servers walked through the groups with savory and sweet tidbits (blueberry macron anyone?) to taste with the different cognacs.
And now time for the tasting!
Cognac's are graded as:
VS-Very Special: at least 2 years in oak casks
VSOP-Very Superior Old Pale: at least 6 years in oak
XO or Napoléan- Extra old: at least 20 years in oak, often longer
Did you know: Grand Marnier and Chambord liqueurs are cognac based
After sampling a little alcohol we were able to wander through the boutique with bottles for sale. That's when my eyes got really big. The bottles were beautifully displayed, some behind burglar proof glass with alarms. These were the "Louis XIII" bottles. Our guide told the story of one bottle, sold to someone affiliated with a 2016 Super Bowl contender, who wanted it for a victory celebration. It cost $18,000.oo! I hope it was someone from the winning Denver Broncos. These bottles are made by Baccarat, a French glass maker of international renown, very stylized and beautiful.
Not the $18,000 bottle.
A trip to Cognac and Remy Martin made me feel like I had witnessed history, part of an exclusive tradition of excellence. Then it was back to our Uniworld riverboat for our final days in Bordeaux, bons moments a' Bordeaux. I gained another level of appreciation for the the artisans, experts and earth who provide us vintage goodness.
