The Final Information to the 6 Crus of Cognac

Cognac, essentially the most well-known brandy on the earth, is called after the small French commune from which it hails. The city of Cognac has lower than 20,000 folks, an impressively small quantity contemplating that over 170 million bottles of Cognac are bought yearly. 

However on the subject of French wine and spirits, nothing is straightforward.

The realm during which the famed brandy is produced is within the commune’s surrounding grape-growing area, the Charente division of southwestern France. It stretches from the Charente-Maritime to smaller components of Deux-Sèvres and the Dordogne. 

The six winery development areas the place Cognac is produced are what the French name “cru,” which suggests one thing a bit totally different for the French brandy than it does for wine. In Cognac’s case, a cru refers to each a area and something grown in it. Grape-wise, Cognac primarily grows Ugni Blanc, which makes up about 98% of the grapes within the area (Colombard, Sémillon, and some others can be used).

The breakdown of the totally different territories began within the mid-Nineteenth century when geologist Henri Coquand studied the area’s terroir and categorised the soils in response to the kind of eau-de-vie (younger, unaged brandy) they produced. This led to the decree of January thirteenth, 1938 which outlined the assorted appellations.

The six areas of Cognac

The six crus that may make Cognac are: Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Borderies, Fins Bois, Bons Bois, and Bois Ordinaires. Solely grapes grown in these areas of France can be utilized to create Cognac, and every area options distinctive soils and landscapes.

The city of Cognac sits close to the center of those crus, with every cru wrapping out like rings additional and farther from the middle. It’s a bit like a dartboard, with Grande Champagne performing because the bullseye.

One of the simplest ways to style the variations between the areas is to do an in-person sampling. 

“We’ve an experiment the place we’ve got one rank Borderies, Foie Bois, Grande Champagne, and I take samples from these barrels,” says Cognac Park grasp blender Jérôme Tessendier. “We style after which it’s straightforward to grasp.” 

From taste to texture to depth, every Cognac cru presents one thing totally different. A lot of the high Cognac manufacturers mix eau-de-vie from totally different areas to create their brandies, however some launch expressions made solely of grapes from a single area. Right here’s how they break down.

Grande Champagne

With its hilly terrain and priceless limestone soil, Grande Champagne yields a mode of eau-de-vie that has turn into fascinating through the years and is taken into account some of the appropriate for ageing. 

Cognac made on this space is understood for its finesse, size, and suppleness. 

“Grand Champagne, it comes tender and light-weight and grows step-by-step within the center and on the finish,” says Tessendier. “It is available in tender, then rising, rising, rising, rising, rising, and stays, stays, stays, stays, stays after which disappears.” 

Grand Champagne is the second smallest of the Cognac areas. It options its namesake city and is dwelling to most of the world’s most iconic manufacturers, akin to Hennessy, Frapin, and Hine.

Petite Champagne

Identified for its floral and fruity brandies, Petite Champagne additionally options largely limestone soil however is much less hilly and there’s extra affect from the oceanic local weather than in Grande Champagne. 

This space’s eau-de-vie tends in direction of gentle and versatile. “Petite Champagne goes tender, grows and stays extra and disappears extra slowly,” says Tessendier.

Petite Champagne is the third largest of the Cognac crus. When mixed with brandy from Grande Champagne, the ensuing mix is called High-quality Champagne. Manufacturers like Remy Martin solely use grapes from the Petite and Grande Champagne crus.

Borderies

The smallest of Cognac’s areas, Borderies is exclusive when in comparison with the areas that encompass it. It’s lower than half the dimensions of Grande Champagne and accommodates the area’s oldest soil, predominantly clay blended with flint.

The eau-de-vie from Borderies options distinct violet aromas in addition to nutty and toffee flavors that aren’t discovered within the different crus. 

“Borderies is available in very tender, stays very tender [on] the palate, after which there’s a robust explosion on the finish,” says Tessendier.

Camus and Cognac Park are each recognized for making Borderies-specific Cognac.

Fins Bois

The most important cru, Fins Bois is over ten occasions the dimensions of Grande Champagne. 

The soil on this area options skinny, clay-limestone and stone, and is surprisingly much like the wine area of Burgundy. The eau-de-vie from Fins Bois tends to be spherical and fruity and doesn’t age in addition to the brandy from the three extra central areas.

Because of the area’s dimension, nonetheless, there generally is a giant distinction between particular person vineyards, that means some have soil extra much like that of Grande Champagne. 

“Fins Bois or Bons Bois ages sooner, is rounder sooner, than a Grande Champagne or a Petite Champagne,” says Tessendier. “So the essential mix, the same old mix, you’re utilizing extra Bons Bois, Fins Bois for youthful Cognac and Grand Champagne or Petite Champagne for older Cognac.”

Bons Bois

Bons Bois has quite a lot of similarities to Fins Bois, however there’s extra sandy soil to go together with the combination of clay and limestone. As Tessendier defined, the Cognac right here is understood for ageing sooner. 

That is additionally a bigger space of Cognac, which suggests some vineyards produce high-quality Cognac as a consequence of pockets of chalky soil. 

Bois Ordinaires

The ocean has a definite affect on the eau-de-vie from the Bois Ordinaires cru. The area, which incorporates the islands of Ile de Re and Ile d’Oleron, has a soil that tends to be very sandy and produces Cognacs with a attribute maritime affect.

In 2021, Camus made a Cognac solely utilizing grapes from Ile de Re, which rapidly grew to become a fan favourite.

This space additionally consists of a few of western France’s most iconic cities, like La Rochelle and Rochefort.