Composing Cognac
Our guide at Hennessy Cognac visitors centre breezed into the room, starting the way she was to continue – here is a young lady who loves her job! Laura’s passion for Hennessey Cognac and the role she plays in the tourism department are matched by both her knowledge of subject and her charm. If you are ever in the area – you simply must go!
At just 20 years of age, Richard Hennessy, an Irishman, found himself billeted in Cognac with his French Army platoon, in the mid-18th Century. Like his fellow officers, he soon developed a taste for the local ‘eau de vie’, whose contribution to the wealth, architecture and beauty of the city, should never be underestimated. However, his interest went further than simply enjoying a ‘digestif’ at the end of dinner!
It’s a long story, but Monsieur Hennessy stayed, building, along with his son, master blender partner and their future heirs, the Hennessy Cognac dynasty – the international brand that boasts sales in all the world’s continents. Richard Hennessey was tireless in his ambition to build the name, knowing that a key market would be that in the USA. Indeed, it was Hennessy that was the first Cognac to be sold in America, shipped, in fact, in 1794.
Just a score of years later Hennessy Cognac ‘conquered’ Russia, then India, China, New Zealand, and so it went on.
An apparent obstacle to sales occurred (for the founder’s heirs, of course) when Prohibition hit the United Sates. However, typical Hennessy drive and resourcefulness, of which the incumbent of the time’s ancestor would have been proud, persuaded the US that Hennessy Cognac should still be permitted because of its ‘medicinal properties’!
The professionally conducted tour took in visits to the old and the new areas, graphics, videos, with bags of atmosphere, as well as a short river crossing on the company’s own boat, as the Hennessy buildings are situated on the riverbanks of both sides. I certainly learned a lot, and am now a definite convert!
Hennessy uses mostly the Ugni Blanc grape variety, though they do also employ the other two permitted varieties – Colombard and Folle Blance. All three varieties have one thing in common, they are all grapes whose base wines are low in alcohol but high in acidity – crucial for making Cognac.
Of course it’s these base wines, made following an autumn harvest, but too acidic to drink as wine, which are used in the distilling process by which Cognac is made. Hennessey heats the wine to 35ºC firstly, then turns up the heat to boil it in order to channel its vapour, which is collected by cooling, producing the spirit! Then there’s a second distillation.
When the long process is finished on come the barrels (French oak, of course – from quite nearby Limousin) in which the Cognac will slowly mature. The barrels are coopered in-house, by artisan coopers, who will take a day to produce one barrel, with toasting occurring simultaneously. When finished the cooper will drum on the lid at certain points looking (hoping, after all that work!) for certain sounds, which will tell the practised ear that the barrel is perfect. If he (I think that’s accurate, we weren’t told of any female coopers – would be good if there were, though) doesn’t hear the correct sounds – well, don’t ask!
The barrels add colour and flavour to the finished article, with the time in barrel depending on the style of Cognac that is being produced: VS (or Three Stars ***), meaning that it must have been aged for a minimum of 2 years; VSOP (or Reserve), which must have had a minimum of 4 years in oak; and XO whose minimum time in oak is 6 years. As you might expect, whilst the ‘minimum’ referred to here is law and always adhered to, the house style of each producer will determine exactly how long each type of Cognac rests in its barrels.
Consistent quality is the mantra of Hennessy! The tasting panel of seven experts with countless years of experience, often from generations of previous members, meets every day at 11.00, as this, being after breakfast and before lunch when the senses are in perfect order, is considered optimum. Laura showed us the lengthy process by which Cognac is composed – and it’s no wonder why this is one of the world’s leading brands!
Our small, international group tasted a VS; a VSOP, a VS with ice; and a VSOP cocktail, which consisted of VSOP Cognac (claro!), ice cubes, Agave syrup and lime juice, shaken and poured. I liked them all, though it was little sweet for me – I’m not a cocktail fan for that reason.
However, we were privileged to be able to taste an extra Hennessy Cognac, one that is sold exclusively on the Chinese market (and on the premises – we bought one!). The VS Classivm is as smooth as you like, with some citrus notes, lime perhaps, underplayed toasty oak and a little vanilla. You might find some caramel flavour in there and it has a delightful finish – working perfectly for me, with a cube of ice as a postprandial drink. (www.hennessy.com/enint)