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Cognac
A brief history of France’s “eaux-de-vie”

Cognac: A brief history of France’s “eaux-de-vie”

Courtesy of Cognac on Line

The nickname for Cognac’s inhabitants, “cagouillard,” means snail and refers to their love for a slower pace of life. In fact, had it not been for their river, the Charente (which Henry IV dubbed, “My kingdom’s nicest”), the Cognaçais would have been content to make a modest name for themselves with just their salt trade and local wine. 

But the Charente, a particularly navigable river, gave Cognac easy access to the nearby Atlantic ocean, in southwestern France, not far from Bordeaux. The town’s surrounding region boasted a climate and soil most appropriate to viniculture, so, given their solid intuition for trade, it was only natural for the Cognaçais to turn to the sea for markets.

Merchants, mostly English and Dutch, began to distill the Cognac wines in order to avoid spoiling their quality over long boat trips. The Dutch turned the wine into brandewijn, or burned wine, which became the forerunner of brandy.

During the 17^th century, the Cognaçais initiated the process of double distillation, allowing concentrated alcohol, “eau-de-vie” (“water of life”), to travel unharmed across the sea stored in oak barrels, then be diluted upon arrival. It was purely by chance that the shippers realized that these eaux-de-vie improved with time and contact with the oak wood. They began to drink and enjoy them undiluted. Soon, these eaux-de-vie came to be called Cognac.

At the time, Cognac was primarily Protestant. The Edict of Nantes in 1598 had guaranteed its inhabitants’ "freedom of faith and worship, and safe haven." But when Louis XIV, the Sun King, revoked the edict in 1685, it forced many Protestant families to leave. After they re-established themselves in England, Ireland or Holland, some began to import the eaux-de-vie produced by their relatives in the region. A strong export network thus began to develop and spread.

The 18th century saw the first exports to Holland, England, North America and the Far East. Later, trading Houses created in the 19th century began to ship their products in bottles rather than in casks. This was the start of yet another economic cycle in Cognac, leading to the creation of factories producing bottles, boxes, corks and labels. The region was fast becoming a major trade and export center.

At the end of the 19th century a major crisis hit the region – the onset of the infamous phylloxera, a microscopic parasitic insect that spread throughout the vineyards, destroying them. In 1888, a French scientist traveled to Dennison, Texas, where he found an answer to phylloxera, including grafting surviving European vines on American rootstock, which was resistant to phylloxera. Cognac merchants led the way in replanting, helping growers with plants, fertilizers and advice.

Little by little, Cognac’s vineyards were entirely replanted, and became France's largest white wine acreage. Fresh from having restored their vineyards, the Cognaçais found themselves with new battles to fight, such as reestablishing old markets and opening new ones throughout the world, guaranteeing quality and protecting themselves against Cognac's imitators.

(To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the cure of phylloxera in 1988, Dennison and Cognac became sister cities. Meanwhile, in the historic part of Cognac, the rue Saulnier [“salt trader” in old French] remains the only witness to the town's original trade.)

The distillation process

The principle of distillation is based on the differences between various chemical components. In a distilled spirit, only those lighter substances that are the main components of its bouquet remain.

The distillation process of the eaux-de-vie from the Charente enables Cognac to concentrate the most delicate aromas and bouquet, keeping only the very best components and eliminating the mediocre.

Immediately after the fermentation of the grape juice, white wine is distilled into eau-de-vie. The main distinctiveness of Cognac’s distillation technique lies in its double distillation: Only the heart of the second distillation, or middle portion (also called the bonne chauffe) is retained for Cognac. The heads, too high in alcohol, and the tails, lacking harmony, are carefully removed and distilled over again to perfection.

After that, only a long period of maturing in oak wood casks allows an eau-de-vie to become a Cognac.

The oak wood, quite porous, keeps the Cognac in permanent contact with the cellars’ naturally humid air. As the Cognac loses some of its alcoholic content the evaporation condenses and sometimes creates a dark halo over the walls of the town, poetically called “The Angels’ Share.” These “angels” over Cognac “drink” the equivalent of 20 million bottles each year, making them the second largest market for Cognac after the United States!

After the double distillation, the Cognac starts to mature at a maximum of 72% alcohol. Time will help it lose over a third, reaching not less than 40% in order to be sold. The aging process follows three main phases:

1. The extraction, during which the wood transfers most of its tannin, boisé (woodiness) and taste to the previously colorless eau-de-vie, creates golden, amber-colored liquid. Each Cognac house decides on the respective length of the eau-de-vie stay in young and old casks, according to the desired quality: Younger wood will transmit far more tannin than older.

2. The ageing, also called degradation or hydrolysis, is the period during which the eau-de-vie flattens. After two to three years of maturing, the eau-de-vie attains the qualities necessary before it can be consumed. But if allowed more time, the Cognac gains in complexity, perfume, aroma and taste. Bouquet and mellowness reach their best after 50 years.

3. Finally, oxidation gives the eau-de-vie its final bouquet and golden shade. Once transferred into glass, the Cognac is no longer in contact with air or wood, and stops maturing. It remains immutable. Each Cognac house stores its oldest Cognacs in demi-johns in remote cellars known as “Paradises.”

The Final Step

Cognac making follows a very complex process. It is never born of a single eau-de-vie or a single growing area, but always from a blend of different ages and crus (growths), sometimes up to a hundred of them. The blending, or “marriage,” is conducted under the watchful eye of the cellar master, who upholds the brand's taste.

Because each Cognac house guards its secrets regarding the blending and assembling of eaux-de-vie fiercely, the cellar master is a keeper of the secrets. He or she will combine great expertise, intuition and technique in the purchase of eaux-de-vie, their mixing and elaboration, and the time they spend in new or old wood. The master determines the consistency of a Cognac – an ability that enables a cellar to offer a reliable product that will pass muster with even the most demanding connoisseurs.  

Cognac on Line, http://www.le-cognac.com