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Tuesday, 19-03-2013
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Cognac is rarely born of a single eau-de-vie or a single growing area, but generally from a blend of different ages and crus, sometimes up to a hundred of them.
It can be made also exclusively from certain "cru", for example exclusively from "Grande Champagne", but of different ages.
Grande Champagne : about 13,000 hectares of clay and compact chalk soil. The Grande Champagne cru is located around the town of Segonzac. It produces a very fine, high-quality Cognac. It is known as the Premier Cru du Cognac.
Petite Champagne: some 16,000 hectares of clay and a more compact chalky layer of soil. Petit Champagne is very much of the same quality, but a touch lighter. It's vineyards lie to the south-west and south-east of Grande Champagne .
Fine Champagne: The blending of Grande and Petite Champagne with a minimum of 50% of Grande Champagne is called "Fine Champagne".
Borderies: only 4,000 hectares of unique soil on the plateau above Charente river. The eau de vie has a slight nutty taste. Borderies, which lie around the town of Burie (north-west of City of Cognac), is the smallest of the crus in the terms of acreage. Eaux-de-vie from Borderies has rich, flowery aromas and it is known as "...Cognac that ladies prefer".
Fins Bois: 37,000 hectares of soil. characterized by quick aging environment. A subtle flowery bouquet characterizes this eau de vie. The largest, and by far the intriguing cru, is Fins Bois. Geographically, it rings the other three crus. It lies, approximately, in the triangle between the towns of Rouilliac, Matha and Pons. It has a rich, full, strong aromas with a touch of the maritime climate.
Bons Bois: less chalky but more earthy soil of 16,000 hectares that is well reflected in the eau de vie.
Bois Ordinaires et Bois Communs (Bois a Terroir): 30,000 hectares of soil influenced by the Atlantic climate. Bons Bois and Bois Ordinaires are the exterior crus heavily influenced by the climate of the Atlantic ocean. They contribute less and less to the overall production of Cognac but are, nevertheless, known to produce some interesting Cognacs.
Quality refers to the grade or level of a cognac:
VS (very special) has aged a minimum of two years;
VSOP (very superior old pale) has been carefully aged for at least four years;
XO (extra old), Napoleon, Extra, Vieille, Reserve has aged at least six years, but usually for decades.
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