Cognac, France

Overview

I don't want to get to far into the intricacies of Cognac. I just wanted to point out that Brandy made in the region is referred to as Cognac. Brandy is a distilled wine product.

The word Champagne (Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Grande Fine Champagne) on the occasional Cognac label refer to the chalky soil area in the middle of the region. It is in no way related to the Sparkling wine, other than Champagne means chalky soil area in both places.

Grapes

The Ugni Blanc, called St. Emilion here, and well known in Italy as Trebbiano is distilled to make the local brandy, Cognac.

Sub Regions

See the Champagne explanation above.

Label Info

Contrary to popular belief there is only 1 French Cognac law that refers to its age:

• Most Cognac sold is Three Star, the youngest.
• V.S.O.P. (Very Superior Old Pale) must be at least 4 years old
• X.O., Extra or Cordon Bleu are all older by some unspecified amount than V.S.O.P.

Vintage dating is rare, and in fact by US law must refer to the date of bottling, not the vintage date.