Top 100 wines of Cognac
Discover the top 100 best wines of Cognac as well as the best winemakers in the region. Explore the varietals of the wines that are popular of Cognac and the best vintages to taste in this region.
Discovering the wine region of Cognac
Cognac is the most famous brandy in the world, more famous even than its OldGascon cousin, Armagnac. It comes from the Charentais, a vast region of western France immediately North of Bordeaux, and takes its name from the historic town of Cognac - the long-standing epicentre of local brandy production. In French, cognac is technically classified as an eau-de-vie de vin - a category that covers all spirits distilled from wine. The Full and official name of the brandy is actually "Eau-de-Vie de Cognac" or "Eau-de-Vie des Charentes", but the Short version has become so common that these longer versions almost never appear on labels.
Although little known, the Charentais is one of the largest vineyards in France. It is made up of two administrative departments (Charente and Charente-Maritime), each of which produces more wine per year than the whole of Burgundy. While some of this wine is basic table wine (sold as IGP / Vin de Pays or Vin de France), the vast majority is produced specifically for distillation into Cognac. Legally protected and regulated since May 1936, Cognac was among the very first AOC titles confirmed when the INAO was created in the mid 1930s.
Discover the grape variety: Grenache
Grenache noir is a grape variety that originated in Spain. It produces a variety of grape specially used for the elaboration of wine. It is rare to find this grape to eat on our tables. This variety of grape is characterized by medium to large bunches, and grapes of medium size. Grenache noir can be found in many vineyards: South West, Cognac, Bordeaux, Provence & Corsica, Languedoc & Roussillon, Rhone Valley, Loire Valley, Savoie & Bugey, Beaujolais.
Food and wine pairing with a wine of Cognac
wines from the region of Cognac go well with generally quite well with dishes of beef, lamb or pork such as recipes of dombrés and pig tails, couscous chicken and merguez or spanish paella.
News from the vineyard of Cognac
Ardbeg single malt reaches record-breaking price
The unnamed collector is set to receive 440 bottles of single malt in total from ‘Cask No. 3’ – 88 each year over the next five years, giving her a vertical series of 1975 Ardbegs bottled at 46, 47, 48, 49 and 50 years old by 2026. The sum paid equates to more than £36,000 per bottle, and is more than 16 times the record amount paid at auction for a single cask of whisky – set in April this year, when a private buyer from the US paid £915,500 (hammer price) for a 1988 Macallan cask. However, pri ...
Best Cognacs for Christmas 2021
If a good Cognac isn’t just for Christmas, it isn’t only for after-dinner sipping either. A top-quality VS or VSOP is also an excellent base for a refreshing aperitif or a palate-sharpening cocktail. You can keep it simple with ice and tonic, dial up the flavour with ginger ale – or move into more sophisticated territory by mixing a zesty Sidecar or twisted Manhattan. Hell, if you’re feeling flush, use an XO to create hedonistically rich and decadent Vieux Carré. Whether you’re buying for a love ...
Rethinking the wine bottle for the future
There’s been a focus on making wine production less energy intensive as well as environmentally friendly in order to address climate change. The efforts continue but, as is the case for electric cars where it’s the battery technology that needs innovating, it’s in wine bottles where we’re seeing rapid change. It comes in a two-pronged attack to reduce energy use in manufacturing and then an even bigger emphasis on reducing bottle weight for shipping to reduce fuel usage and thus CO2 production. ...