Brandy Flashcards
Brandy
Defined by the EU
- Distillation of wine, not pomace
- min 36% abv
- min 6 mo oak aging
Base for distillation for Brandy
Wine
Hybrid grape variety authorized for Armagnac production
Baco Blanc
Year Cognac AOC was first defined
Year it was finalized
- 1909
- 1938
Where is Cognac located in France?
Northeast of Bordeaux
Cognac
6 Geographic Designations
(added 1938)
- Grande Champagne
- Petite Champagne
- Borderies
- Fins Bois
- Bons Bois
- Bois Ordinaires (Bois à Terroirs)
Cognac
Grande and Petite Champagne
Soils
Limestone and high % of Soft Chalk
Cognac
Outlying Regions
Soils
-
Higher % hard limestone, sand and clay
- Fins Bois: “groies” (hard red limestone) and clay
- Bons Bois, Bois Ordinaires: Sand
Cognac
Permitted Grapes
encépagement
- Ugni Blanc (accounts for 98% of vineyard land)
- Folle Blanche
- Colombard
- Montils
- Sémillon
- max 10% Folignan (Folle Blanche x Ugni Blanc)
Cognac
Distillation Procedure
2x in a copper Charentais pot still
- Copper boiler must be heated over an open flame
- Still for the 1st distillation must not exceed a capacity of 140 hl (5% tolerance), with a volume of base wine not exceeding 120 hl
- Still used to distill the bonne chauffe must not exceed a capacity of 30 hl (5% tolerance), with a volume of spirit not exceeding 25 hl
- Post 2nd distillation, max 72.4% alcohol
- Distillation must be completed by March 31 of the year following the harvest
brouillis
1st distillation of Cognac
- Product is a spirit of 28-32% ABV
- It will be distilled again
bonne chauffe
- bonne chauffe -* 2nd distillation of Cognac
- vs. brouillis - 1st distillation
bonne chauffe
4 parts
bonne chauffe
- Tête - ‘heads’
- Coeur - ‘hearts’
- Secondes - ‘second cuts’
- Queue - ‘tails’
Cognac
Age Indications
Age refers to the youngest eau-de-vie in the blend
-
VS/***/ de Luxe / Grand Choix / Surchoix: (Very Special)
- min 2 yrs
-
Supérieur
- min 3 yrs
-
VSOP / VO / Réserve (Very Special/Superior Old Pale)
- min 4 yrs
-
VVSOP / Grande Réserve
- min 5 yrs
-
Napoléon / Extra / Royal / Très Vieux / Vieille Réserve
- min 6 yrs
-
XO (Extra Old)
- min 10 yrs
- Was min 6 yrs until 2018 - original deadline of 2016 was protested to ensure consisteny of stocks)
-
XXO
- min 14 yrs
Cognac
Vintage
- Vintage indicates year of harvest, not year of distillation
- Legal, but rare
Cognac
with Subzone on the label
- 100% of the eaux-de-vie must originate in the stated subzone
- i.e. “Grande Champagne”
Cognac
“Fine Champagne”
- min. 50% from Grande Champagne
- remainder sourced from Petite Champagne
Cognac
“Fine”
“Fine”
- Term may be applied to either Grande Champagne or Petite Champagne (“Grande Fine Champagne” and “Petite Fine Champagne”)
- Does not provide any additional information
Cognac
4 major houses
- Remy Martin
- Hennessy
- Martell
- Courvoisier
Armagnac
3 Regions
- Bas-Armagnac AOC
- Haut-Armagnac AOC
- Ténarèze AOC
Where is Armagnac AOC located?
Southeast of Bordeaux
Armagnac
Primary Grapes
- Ugni Blanc
- Colombard
- Folle Blanche (Picpoul)
- Baco Blanc (the only hybrid grape authorized in any French AOP appellation)
- Blanc Dame, Graisse, Jurançon Blanc, Mauzac, Mauzac Rosé, Meslier Saint-François
Blanche Armagnac
- Year achieved AOC status
- Aging requirements
Blanche Armagnac
- 2005
- Bottled after 3 mo in an inert container
Armagnac
Age Indications
Age refers to the youngest Armagnac in the blend
-
VS/***
- 1-3 yrs
-
VSOP / Napoléon
- min 4 yrs
-
XO
- min 10 yrs
-
Hors d’Age
- min 10 yrs
-
XO Premium
- min 20 yrs
-
Vintage
- Indicates year of harvest, not year of distillation
- Min 10 yrs oak
Armagnac
Former Aging Requirements
(prior to 2013)
- VS/***: min 2 yrs
- VSOP: min 5 yrs
- XO: min 6 yrs
Armagnac
Min Alcohol
40%
Armagnac
Vintage
Aging Requirements
10 years
Armagnac
2 producers
- Larressingle
- Château Laubade
3 other brandy production areas of France
- Fine de Bordeaux
- Fine de Borgogne
- Fine de la Marne
Weinbraund
- Producer
- Grapes
- Distillation Procedure
Weinbraund - German Brandy
- Asbach
- Cognac grapes
- Charentais pot still
Brandy de Jerez
- Grapes
- Type of still
- Aging requirements
- Type of barrels
Brandy de Jerez - Sherry region
- Airen, Palomino
- Copper stills
- Aged in a solera system
- American oak sherry casks
Brandy de Jerez
- solera
- s**olera reserva
- solera gran reserva
- Solera: aged 1 yr avg
- Solera Reserva: aged 3 yrs avg
- Solera Gran Reserva: aged 10 yrs avg
Brandy de Jerez
3 Producers
- Domecq
- Emilio Lustau
- Osborne
Name for pommace based spirits
- France
- Italy
- Portugal
- France - Mar
- Italy - Grappa
- Portugal - Bagaceira
1st producer to distill a single grape variety for grappa
Giannola Nonino
- Used Picolit
Grappa
Label indicatations for wood-aged examples
Most Grappa is clear
- Riserva
- Stravecchia
- Vecchia
- Invecchiata
Grappa
Wood Aged Examples
- Riserva
- Stravecchia
- Vecchia
- Invecchiata
Grappa
Quality Producer
Jacopo Poli and Giannola Nonino
- 1st to distill a single varietal—Picolit—for grappa
Where is Calvados?
Normandy region of northern France
Calvados
3 areas of production
- Calvados
- Calvados Domfrontais
- Calvados Pays d’Auge
Perry
Pear Cider used in the production of Calvados
Calvados Pays d’Auge
Limits pear cider to a max of 30%
Calvados Domfrontais
- Min 30% pear cider
- Aged min 3 years in cask
- Must be produced using a continuous still
Calvados
Age Indications
-
Fine / Trois Étoiles / Trois Pommes / VS
- 2 yrs
-
Vieux / Réserve
- 3 yrs
-
Vieille Réserve / VO / VSOP
- 4 yrs
-
XO / Hors d’Age / Très Vieille Réserve / Très Vieux / Extra / Napoléon
- 6 yrs
Calvados
“Production Fermière”
“Production Fermière” (Produit Fermier)
- Estate Calvados - produced on the same estate where the fruit was harvested and fermented
Calvados
Authorized Pruning Methods
-
“Haute Tige” (high stem)
- Branches at least 1.6 m off the ground for apple trees
- Branches at least 1.8 m off the ground for pear trees
- Min. 10% (or at least 50 trees) of the estate must be trained in the “haute tige” fashion
-
“En Basse Tige” (low stem)
- Branches begin at less than 1.6/1.8 (apple/pear) m off the ground
Calvados
Max Planting Density
-
“Haute Tige” Apple Trees
- 250 trees / ha
-
“Haute Tige” Pear Trees
- 150 trees / ha
-
“En Basse Tige” Apple and Pear Trees
- 1000 trees / ha
- Irrigation is prohibited
- (all if planted after 1997)
Eua de vies
- Kirschwasser
- Poire William
- Framboise
- Mirabelle
- Quetsch
- Boukha
- Barack Palinka
- Kirschwasser: (Kirsch) black cherries
- Poire William: Williams (Bartlett) pear perry
- Framboise: raspberry
- Mirabelle: (Mirabelle) plum
- Quetsch: (Questch) plum
- Boukha: fig (from Tunisia)
- Barack Palinka: apricot (Hungary)
Californian brandy
Quality producer
Germain-Robin
- Artisan producer in Ukiah
- Must be made with 100% Californian grapes
- California brandy historically been of lesser quality, but newer entries from producers like Germain-Robin are generating praise
