Spirits - French Flashcards
What is the target ABV for Cognac’s base wine?
8.5% to 9.5% ABV
List the areas of production for Cognac
Grande Champagne,
Petite Champagne,
Borderies,
Fins Bois,
Bons Bois, and
Bois Ordinaires (Bois à Terroirs)
Cognac soil type by region
Grande and Petite Champagne: limestone and soft chalk
Fins Bois: groies (hard red limestone) and clay
Bons Bois and Bois Ordinaires: sand
What are the main grapes for Cognac?
mostly Ugni Blanc, also Folle Blanche, Colombard
usuasly made from a single variety, unlike Armagnac
In what kind of still is Cognac distilled?
Cognac is distilled twice in an alembic Charentais copper pot still
What are the two fermentations in Cognac called?
The first distillation, or premiere chauffe produces a spirit of 28% to 32% ABV called the brouillis. Several batches of brouillis are returned to the boiler to be distilled again, to extract the “soul” of Cognac.
The second distillation, or bonne chauffe, is divided into several parts: the têtes (heads), coeur (heart), secondes (second cut), and queues (tails).
Cognac age designations
VS (Very Special) or *** indicates at least 2 years in cask,
VSOP (Very Special, or Superior, Old Pale) indicates at least 4 years in cask, and
XO (Extra Old) currently indicates at least 10 years in cask.
because Cognac is often a blend of several vintages, the age statement refers to the YOUNGEST portion of the blend
What is Fine Champagne Cognac?
min 50% eau-de-vie from Grande Champagne, remainder from Petite Champagne
What are the regions of production for Armagnac?
Haut-Armagnac, Bas-Armagnac, and Armagnac-Ténarèze.
Armagnac main grapes?
Ugni Blanc, Colombard, Folle Blanche (called Picpoul locally), and Baco Blanc
Armagnac is usually a blend, unlike Cognac
How is Armagnac distilled? How does it affect the resulting spirit?
Most Armagnac is distilled once in a copper continuous still. This produces a more flavorful, less pure, and less alcoholic spirit than double distillation in a pot still
Armagnac age designations?
VS or *** indicates that the spirit rested in barrel for between 1 and 3 years,
VSOP signifies 4 to 9 years of age, and
XO or Hors d’Age denotes spirits that spend at least 10 years in barrel.
What is petits eaux?
A mixture of distilled water and Armagnac added to the blend of Armagnac or Cognac prior to bottling, to achieve the appropriate strength of spirit
List 3 Cognac producers
Rémy Martin, Hennessy, Martell, Courvoisier, Camus, Bisquit & Duboche
List 3 Armagnac producers
Delord
Chateau de Laubade
Chateau de Millet
Define Calvados? List the AOPs
an eau-de-vie distilled from apple and pear cider and produced in the Normandy region of northern France
Calvados AOC, Calvados Domfrontais AOC, and Calvados Pays d’Auge AOC.
Calvados distillation and aging?
Calvados is traditionally distilled twice in a copper pot still and aged in oak casks.
Fine / Trois Étoiles / Trois Pommes / VS: min. 2 years old
Vieux / Réserve: min. 3 years old
VO / VSOP / Vieille Réserve: min. 4 years old
Hors d’Age / XO / Très Vieille Réserve / Très Vieux / Extra / Napoléon: min. 6 years old
Describe the difference between the Calvados appellations
Calvados Pays d’Auge is the premier region of production and limits perry (pear cider) to a maximum 30%.
Calvados Domfrontais, the most recent appellation, requires a minimum 30% perry and a minimum three years of aging in cask.
Calvados Domfrontais is always produced by continuous distillation.
What are typical yields for cognac wine? How much distillate is this?
100 hl / ha
results in about 10 hl/ha of distillate
maximum 16 hl/ha of alcohol
because of this, vines aged 20-30 years are optimal, anything 35-40 years and older are pulled because production is too low
Why did Ugni Blanc replace Folle Blanche as the preferred grape for Cognac?
Folle Blanche was ideal because of it’s high acid and lower alcohol, resulting in aromatic, elegant distillate. However, the Folle Blanche vines did not take well to American rootstock following phylloxera- it’s bunches were too small and prone to rot. Ugni Blanc performed much better on the new rootstock
What are benefits and drawbacks of using copper stills in Cognac?
copper is a material that is easy to work with, an excellent conductor of heat, and unlikely to be damaged by fire or acidic substances. Copper also fixes the fatty acids in the wine, creating a hazy solid that can be filtered out after the first distillation. It reacts with many undesirable sulfur compounds, ensuring that they do not end up in the final brandy. Yet this reactivity is also the main drawback of using copper; stills typically have a life span of only around 50 years.
What is the premiere chauffe? How long does it take?
the first distillation in Cognac, takes up to 12 hours to distill and yields a brouillis that is about 26% to 32% ABV.
What is the bonne chauffe? How long does it take?
Second and final distillation in Cognac. The bonne chauffe takes up to 14 hours to distill, with 25 hectoliters of brouillis typically yielding about 7 hectoliters of brandy.
The first portion that comes out, the têtes, is full of impurities and often set aside. The coeur starts to flow at around 78% ABV and is cut off at around 60% ABV, yielding a brandy at a maximum average ABV of 73.7%. Typically, the coeur is drawn off at 17 to 20 degrees Celsius, since most of the unwanted compounds were removed when the brouillis was distilled.
Describe the character of Tronçais oak in Cognac production
Tronçais oak tends to be mostly sessile, from very tall, old trees. Its grain is extremely fine, about one millimeter, and its tannins are not as easily extracted as those of Limousin oak, but Tronçais oak does add fine aromas of wood, coconut, and clove
What are the 7 age designations of cognac?
