The Very Same Cognac

In the year of cultural exchange between Russia and France the French introduced Muscovites not only to the treasures of their national art, but also cuisine. The visit of the representatives of the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC) who arrived in Moscow to launch the campaign promoting the Appellation of Origin IG Cognac, served just that purpose.

The three-year programme promoting IG Cognac in the Russian market is financed by the European Union and the French government. The French will tell Russians about cognac, its unique qualities and history. The professional players of the distilled alcohol market and sommelier schools can benefit from a raft of training programmes: workshops, professional tasting and other practical activities.

In October in the wake of this serious work Jérôme Durand, the BNIC Marketing Director, arrived in Moscow. He introduced journalists and professionals of the distilled alcohol market to the notion of the Appellation of Origin IG Cognac. Mr. Durand spoke on behalf of the 5 000 winemakers manufacturing cognac and 276 négociant companies selling this product.

The French are very particular about this beverage and even insist that other nations, Russians including, write the word cognac exclusively in French. That is why at the press conference a special emphasis was made on the difference between the cognac and Russian brandies and other distilled drinks.

Jérôme Durand acquainted the audience with the subtleties of cognac manufacturing and its origin. The famous cognac beverage was named after the town of Cognac in the Charente area that was a well-known trading centre. Since the XIII century the wines from the local vineyards Poitou, La Rochelle and Angoulême were delivered by sea to the Northern Europe — to England, the Netherlands and the Scandinavia. During the lengthy transportation the quality with low ethanol content deteriorated. In XVI the Dutch trying to amend the situation started to distill this wine which gave birth to brandwijn, the burned wine, the predecessor of brandy. The Dutch then diluted it with water in an erroneous attempt to recreate the initial product. To cut the costs they decided to distill the wine at the manufacturing site and installed their distillation stills in Charente. The French explored this technology and in XVII discovered double distillation which was a considerable improvement. The new product cognac spirit did not change its quality during transportation. Thanks to the cargo loading delays it became known the quality improves as cognac spirit gets old in oak barrels and that it can be consumed undiluted. That was the beginning of the town that in time became a trading centre known all over the world...

At the meeting with the BNIC representatives a lot of attention was given to the subtleties of cognac production. Even now the region manufacturing cognac lives in accordance with the natural manufacturing cycle. The grapes are gathered in October, then comes the pressing and fermentation. The resulting white wine is distilled in two stages. In winter distillation facilities work day-and-night. The French say: “At this time the people of Charente live in the rhythm of heating and with the esprit of the magic mixture of fire, quietly seething spirits, water, copper and brick.” The winemakers say the place is filled with the Charente spirit.

After that the beverage matures in oak barrels. The spirit can become cognac only after the long aging in oak barrels as their wood helps build up the colour and bouquet. In France the vocation of the cellar master is very honourable. He buys cognac spirits when the leave the distillery, and starts his own work: oversees the aging process, puts from one barrel to another or in a different cellar in order to make them sweeter or drier, adds distilled and demineralized water to attain the proof required for trade. While in the barrel cognac evaporates. This small portion is poetically called the angel’s share.

Nowadays cognac is exported to over 150 countries. The BNIC regulates all the production stages, promotes and protects the merchandise in foreign markets.

Jérôme Durand explained the cognac tasting rules. First one must assess the colour of the drink, its shades, shine, viscosity and transparence. The visual experience is the first stage after which the nose comes into play. Unlike wine tasting it is not required to swirl cognac, tilting the glass several times suffices to feel the real aroma and judge the viscosity that is visible through the so-called legs — streaks down the inside of the glass. The final part is the sip and savour. A small sip will fill the mouth cavity and reveal the richness of taste, and later aftertaste.

Most often professionals use the classification based on the age of the youngest cognac spirit in the beverage. The V.S. (Very Special) on the bottle means the youngest spirit was stored for at least two years, V.S.O.P. (Very Superior Old Pale) — at least four, and X.O. (Extra Old) — the minimum of six. Jérôme Durand underlined that most often spirits older than the required minimum are used in production. For the most prestigious merchandise it may be decades.

The French are very proud of cognac and strive to show its best qualities to the world. That is why Moscow became the starting point for the Russian three-year cognac promotion programme.

Materials partially used in the photostrip are kindly furnished by the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC), France