Brandy is a wonderful thing. It’s a perfect digestif and, if you’ve had wine with dinner, it can be an easier segue than turning to a single malt. This is because brandy is essentially distilled grape juice which means it is less likely to clash with the cheeky Beaujolais from earlier.
There is a fair amount of consumer confusion between the two main types of French brandy, Cognac and Armagnac. They can both be excellent, but are quite distinctly different.
Cognac tends to be quite refined and elegant due to it being double distilled in a pot still. Armagnac is made in continuous still and is only distilled once, which creates a more rustic and (arguably) more complex spirit. The Cognac region has a small number of large scale producers who tend to focus on one main grape…Ugni Blanc. Production in Armagnac is on a smaller scale, and the focus is on four main grapes to add depth and complexity to the spirit. Without getting too geeky, the soil is also different. In Cognac it’s chalky, and in Armagnac it’s sandy. Finally, Cognac is usually a blend of different ages, labelled VS, VSOP or XO. (VS has to be aged for at least two years, VSOP for four, and XO for a minimum of six). Armagnac will often be labelled as a single vintage or an age statement.
Here are a few to whet your appetite this weekend.
Godet Special VSOP Cognac (Inverarity One to One, £35.99). Godet incorporate much older spirits into the blend than most Cognac producers. This means that you get a finer Cognac in your glass for less.
Monnet Cognac XO Prestige (M&S, £56). This has structure and elegance combined. It’s a top-level spirit, at a mid-level price.
Baron de Lustrac Armagnac Vintage 1975 (Inverarity One to One, £99). What were you doing in 1975..? I was eagerly awaiting the release of Star Wars, A New Hope in 1977. The movie didn’t disappoint, and neither will this bottle. Cheers!
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