Great cognac at auction rosenbaum arts auctions magazine (003)

IN THE

GLASS ART OF DISTILLING AND BLENDING — WHY GREAT COGNAC IS IN HIGH DEMAND

by Andrew Rosenbaum

BLOUINSHOP FALL 2017 | 171

ASPIRITEDSALE

“The art of a great cognac comes from centuries of

Harvey, Master of Wines at Bonhams, talking

experience in distilling and blending,” adds Benoit Fils,

about the July 13 auction in London of bottles

maitre du chai (master blender) at cognac house Martell,

of 1840 cognac, exported in cask and aged in

where his team tastes about 3,500 eaux-de-vie every year.

the UK. “We had international participation for what

WHAT MAKES A GREAT COGNAC?

is usually a specialist interest.” Cognac that was

You can probably guess that just having an old cognac doesn’t

moved to the UK and aged in cask in Britain has special qualities,

make it great. As the famous cognac producer Jean Monnet

because the cool and moist local climate enhances the effects

once said: “The great thing about making cognac is that it

of the wood, Harvey explained. The five lots brought in

teaches you to wait.”

more than £10,000.

First, grapes have to be grown and harvested. Cognac, in

Prices keep rising, because there is only so much great

the French Southwest departement or county of Charente,

cognac available for sale, points out Bay van der Bunt of

is where the grapes are grown. Around the town of Cognac

Breda, Netherlands-based Old Liquors, which hosts the

are six small areas where the best white grapes for making

largest collection of great cognac in Europe. What’s more,

cognac are located: These are Bois Ordinaires, Bons Bois, Fins

limited editions still constitute collector’s items.

Bois, Borderies, Petite Champagne and Grande Champagne

A good example is the recent sale for a charity held by

(nothing to do with the wine called champagne; it’s just an

Artcurial in the town of Cognac, where a bottle of Martell was

old French word which originally meant “open country”). The

sold for €31,000 (£27,417) after being offered at €11,000.

most-used grape is the Ugni blanc.

The baccarat-crystal bottle was designed in 1954, and the

The best cognac comes from the Grande and Petite

box was created by the artist Thierry Drevelle. The bottle

Champagne areas, which is why you will see old cognac

contained an eau-de-vie from 1920 which came from a single

labelled “fine champagne.”

oak cask.

These grapes are fermented until they reach about

“Where there are unique bottles, prices soar!” insists

nine per cent alcohol levels, and then they are made into

Stephen Mould, Head of Wine at Sotheby’s Europe, who agrees

the components of cognac, the “eaux-de-vie” which means

that demand for great cognac — both for very old bottles and

simply a spirit distilled from wine. Wines for cognac are twice

for blends of old spirit bottled in new objets d’art produced by

distilled, to bring them up to the very high alcohol level of

the great cognac houses — is definitely on the rise. There are

72 per cent at which they can be used for cognac blending.

no statistics kept on cognac sold at auction, but, according

The ‘double-distillation,’ as the French call it, enhances the

to David Baker, managing director of the Bradford-on-Avon-

special elements in the wines very effectively.

based dealer Hermitage Cognacs, exceptional cognac has

First, however, the eaux-de-vie are themselves aged,

seen nearly an 100 per cent rise in price at auction over the

for as much as two years. They then go into an oak barrel,

past 10 years.

and can spend up to 40 years there in which the wood

Why? “A vintage dating from a historic date such as 1812

gives character and form to them. How and where the

or 1914 means that you are drinking liquid history, adding

aging process takes place is very important — unstable

to the uniqueness and mystery of a great Cognac,” Mould

weather conditions can rudely affect the final result. This is

points out.

why there is special interest in so-called “landed cognac,”

172 | BLOUINSHOP FALL 2017

IMAGE COURTESY: SOTHEBY'S

I

t was a particularly exciting sale,” says Richard

A unique Crystal Magnum Decanter of Special Louis XIII Cognac European Edition.

It was sold for £188,000 ($235,000) by Sotheby's

BLOUINSHOP FALL 2017 | 173

ASPIRITEDSALE

which was exported in the 19th century to the UK for

complex nose — even more than a great Burgundy or Bordeaux

aging and bottling. As cognac ages, it needs to be "topped

— and a musty richness on the palate that is unequalled,”

up," because alochol disappears over time. Cognac aged

explains Baker. “Truly great cognac has what producers call

in the UK barrels does not need to be “topped up” and so

“rancio:” A walnut oil-like nuttiness that is soft yet bitter.”

retains quality.

In fact, cognac experts say that each bottle has 25 sips

Some cognacs come from a single eau-de-vie from a

in it. “You don’t drink cognac, you place it on the tongue and

specific barrel. Others are blended by the “maître du chai,”

let it disappear,” explains van der Bunt. “There is nothing in

the famous ‘nose’ of the great cognac houses, into very special

the world like a great cognac, which is why some people pay

cognacs for which the experience and artistic skill of the

10-20 thousand pounds for a 50-year old bottle and then just

blender makes all the difference.

enjoy it.” (It is said that Russian connoisseurs often do this

So, whether a bottle of cognac is old or young, what matters is how it was produced, blended and aged. For young

just to talk about it afterwards).

cognac, there are three different grades: VS, or very special,

PRE- OR POST-PHYLLOXERA?

aged at least two years, VSOP, very superior old pale, aged

For collectors, the most prized cognacs are so-called “pre-

at least four years, and XO, extra old, aged at least 10 years.

phylloxera,” that is, made with grapes grown before the fungus

But great cognac is always aged for many years in the barrel.

epidemic that destroyed Europe’s wine industry stock in the

Cognac does not age in the bottle like wine, so the barrel-age

late 19th century. The grapes grown before the epidemic

is what makes the difference.

came from plants that had different qualities than those that

The value of a bottle of very old cognac depends heavily

replaced them after almost complete destruction.

on its condition. If the seal has been broken, a good part of the

“This does not mean, however, that cognac made ‘post-

contents may have evaporated or deteriorated. “In the collection

phylloxera’ is not collectible,” explains Baker. “Many collectors

of great old cognac, you don’t just look for an old bottle from a

look for specific producers from later years. Vintages, or years

good producer, you look for a carefully stored bottle,” warns van

of production like 1920, are also highly prized because the

der Bunt. In the case of the 1840 cognac stored in the UK, the

quality of the eaux-de-vie is well-known.”

cognac sat in the cellar of an old English manor house for 100 years, and so was in excellent condition for sale.

“When all the conditions are right, great cognac has a very

It’s clear that collectors do favor ‘post-phylloxera’ limited editions which offer the best of the great cognac houses — Hennessy, Hine, Martell, Remy Martin, Courvoisier, Delamain

A vintage dating from a historic date such as 1812 or 1914 means that you are drinking liquid history, adding to the uniqueness and mystery of a great Cognac — Stephen Mould, Head of Wine, Sotheby’s Europe

174 | BLOUINSHOP FALL 2017

Old cognac bottles

and Croizet among others. “They are very successful at

are labelled “fine

auction,” Mould says, “but they may become victims of their

champagne” because

success if the houses try to sell too many of them.”

the best cognac comes

Recent sales show only great interest: A lot of Remy Martin

from the Grande and

Louis XIII Black Pearl cognac — specially blended from the

Petite Champagne areas,

producer’s finest eaux-de-vie — in a crystal decanter sold for as

around the

much as £17,000 per lot in in a London sale on April 6, 2017.

town of Cognac

But investment in pre-phylloxera great stock is just as successful. “I bought a bottle of 1795 Brugerolle in a handblown bottle, specially intended for Napoleon’s officers to take to the front with them in 1990,” says van der Bunt.

“That bottle cost £20,000 in 1990 and it is now valued at £138,000.”

ASIA, RUSSIA STRONG AT AUCTIONS Buyers in Asia and Russia continue to play a major role in the market for great cognac.

“Cognac has always been a status symbol in Asia, where top businesspeople routinely sit down over a bottle of XO,” Baker says. “And Hong Kong is still the most important auction site for great cognac.”

But Mould notes that the economic slowdown in Russia has hurt that demand, and the policy changes in China have also meant less great cognac purchasing there. Nonetheless, he notes sales for particularly interesting pre-phylloxera bottles have reached levels of £30,000 – 40,000 recently, and seem likely to stay at those levels.

But interest is equally strong from Europe and the US. A recent release of a 1947 vintage “hors d’age” (ageless) cognac in London of 186 bottles highlights this. This vintage spirit from a well-known distiller was aged for more than 40 years in barrels. Experts say it has developed a good rancio, and the nose has flavors of sweet spices, ripe medlars, Muscat grapes, ripe plums and cocoa. It is being snapped up by collectors.

Demand for pre-phylloxera cognac of this quality is likely to continue to grow, while supplies diminish. “Demand for great cognac stays consistent,” comments Mould, “but prices

F

can be expected to keep rising as competition for the best increases.”

BLOUINSHOP FALL 2017 | 175