Cognac and Armagnac

5 products

    France has a centuries-old tradition in theart of distillation, made of hard work and passion for their land, to the point that their spirits are considered not only a local excellence, but a real symbol of European drinking culture.

    Among the most famous spirits are undoubtedly theArmagnac and the Cognac, with their ancient history and the reputation they have earned over time because of the extreme quality and care with which they are produced.

     

    L'Armagnac is the oldest wine brandy in France, and according to some sources even the world, considering that the distillation process was already known in Babylonian times.

     

    The name comes from the old county of Armagnac, corresponding to that Gascony which has passed into history for the events of the musketeer D'Artagnan: this area, to the southwest, now includes the departments of Gers, Lot et Garonne and Landes. This is a rich and fertile territory, renowned for its white grapes. The earliest manuscripts mentioning Armagnac date back to the 1411, and they tell of a wonderful burning aygue produced in Toulouse, and the importance of barrels for maturation.

     

    Considering that in 1461 theArmagnac was widespread enough to become the subject of taxation, we can still say that it certainly came before the Cognac, whose first distillation is traced back to the 1549.

    It was the British who gave a decisive boost to Cognac production, Inviting farmers to produce their own spirits, and it was the French who improved and made stills more efficient, creating the charentais with a small capital, which better preserved the characteristics of the spirits. The Cognac success over time is due to the sum of factors between consistent quality, price, and market availability.

     

    THE MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ARMAGNAC AND COGNAC

    Armagnac and Cognac are two types of French Brandy: that is, they are both brandies made from the distillation of wine and marc or lees, bottled after a period of aging in wooden barrels. The first key difference between them is the region of production: western France for Cognac and the southwest area for Armagnac. Both are obviously protected designations of origin.

    For both distillates, white grapes are used, with the following differences: for Cognac, wines derived from Ugni Blanc vines are used-95 percent-and Colombart, Folle Blanche and Saint-Emillon vines are used for 5 percent. These three grape varieties grow in Charentes and are divided into six different areas, the Crus: the wines from each Cru are processed and distilled separately, and it is the blends that will form Cognacs - in fact, it must be remembered that Cognac becomes Cognac only during the blending of blends from different crus and aging.

    Wines derived from the grape varieties of Ugni Blanc, Baco Blanc, Folle Blanche and Colombard are used for Armagnac.

    Distillation in Cognac is double, that is, discontinuous, in copper stills of the charentais type, while in Armagnac it is continuous, in column stills of the armagnais type.

    Aging takes place in oak barrels for at least 30 months in the case of Cognac, and in oak barrels for at least one year in Armagnac. The oak must be sessile or pedunculated.

    In general, Cognac must age at least 24 months to be called Cognac, while Armagnac begins its aging with Blanche, three months after distillation. VS has Compte 1-that is, it spends at least one year from April 1 of the year after the grape harvest.