The Spirit of the ages

This was Grande Champagne cognac from 1848, which had been maturing in the cellars of the region for over 150 years.

Stored in large oak casks for 65 years, it had evaporated, concentrated and become smoother and more refined with age. Cognac cannot be kept in oak for ever – it would just evaporate away – so it had been transferred to glass demijohns and stored. It spent two world wars hidden in a secret room, safe from marauding troops, then it was rescued and now a small amount was in my glass, a grand old lady of cognac, providing a taste of history, too old and valuable to go into any of the main commercial blends, but occasionally added in tiny amounts, like seasoning, to limited edition blends. What a treat!

The region of Cognac lies on the west coast of France, about an hour's drive north of Bordeaux in the Charente region. The local grape varieties, Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche and Colombard produce fairly unremarkable crisp, light, white wines, but they are ideal for distillation.

It was the Dutch who first came to buy these wines in the 16th century, shipping them north to their new distilleries, creating 'brandwijn' – burnt wine, which is how we get the name brandy.

But once the French set up their own stills they gave their product a name of its own, after the small town of Cognac in the heart of the region.

The secret to the wine and the cognac it produces is the soil. The crumbly chalk of the Grande Champagne area produces the best cognacs, floral in style and able to mature to a great age.

Adjacent to and surrounding the southern border of Grande Champagne, the Petite Champagne area is also on chalk but a harder stone, which produces delicate, supple cognacs.

Other parts of the region, known as Borderies, Fins Bois and Bons Bois, each have their own characteristic.

It is worth noting that Champagne in this context has absolutely nothing to do with the fizzy stuff we know as champagne. The word is actually derived from the French for countryside.

The cognac process starts as in any wine region with the picking of the grapes, but here speed is paramount. Mechanical harvesting is the norm, because nothing can be added to the wine or grapes to preserve them. The juice is fermented as soon as it arrives into the chais, and fermentation is rapid, producing a thin, weak acidic wine which, frankly, no-one would want to drink.

And that is its charm.

Once the wine is settled, the stills are fired up and the wine is distilled, always in traditionally-shaped copper pot stills where the first distillation takes the strength up to 30 per cent alcohol and the second "chauffe" takes it up to 71 per cent as a clear, pure spirit.

Selecting the right fraction of the distillate to collect is one of the most important points of distillation.

The "heads" which distil off first, contain lighter alcohols, while the "tails" contain heavier alcohols, neither of which are good for drinking.

By law, all distillation has to be completed by the end of March, creating a beautiful, but massive investment which must lie idle for most of the year.

Once distilled, the spirit goes into large 550 litre casks, usually made of Limousin oak and all cognac must be aged for a minimum of two years.

Variations in casks, cellars, humidity and temperature create different ageing characteristics and much of the cellar-master's job lies in nosing and tasting the spirit as it ages.

As the spirit evaporates, losing about two per cent in volume per year, known as the angels' share which adds up to a considerable amount during the lifetime of an old cognac.

The final stage in making a quality cognac is the blending stage when different cognacs are brought together to create the house style.

This is a highly skilled job and frequently gets passed down from father to son within a company. It can involve many different components, and the "taste memory" of the cellar-master is key to producing consistency and quality.

Legislation sets the minimum age for cognacs – VS must be at least two years old, VSOP is a minimum of four years old and XO is six years, but most cognac producers age their spirits for much longer.

My visit to the region focussed on some of the smaller Houses and here are some of my favourites.

Hine

A small producer making elegant, stylish cognacs. While Hine has its own extensive cellars for maturing cognac it is one of the few to produce small amounts of Early Landed cognac which involves sending a few casks of new spirit to Bristol to mature in the damp West Country climate.

Cellar-master Eric Forget visits his stock once a year and he admits that it is like visiting his children.

This Early Landed cognac is most likely to be encountered in top class restaurants. Of the Hine range I particularly like the Antique XO (85, Field and Fawcett, 01904 489073), made only from Grande Champagne cognac, with an average age of 20 years.

Spice, tobacco and liquorice harmonise across a smooth, elegant palate. Also good is their H by Hine (28.50), a lighter, floral style of cognac, perfect for daytime sipping.

Frapin

This is a small producer with a focus on high-quality cognacs. With their own extensive vineyards they can control the whole process from grape to bottling.

My top marks here went to VIP XO cognac (134.99 Harrogate Fine Wine, 01423 522270) which is very old Grande Champagne cognac, with soft, spicy, fruity notes, rounded elegance and a long, silky finish.

Frapin Multimillisime (Field and Fawcett 128.50) is an unusual blend of three vintages, 1982, 1983 and 1985, bringing together the individual characteristics of each.

As a winter nightcap, Frapin Grande Champagne VSOP (Field and Fawcett 37.95) is delicious with rounded spice, honeyed notes and a smooth, gentle finish.

Ch. de Montifaud

Despite the usual number of large houses in the region, the term Chteau is unusual in cognac, and is reserved for long-established family-owned properties.

For six generations the Vallet family have looked after their vines and made cognac, gradually increasing their landholding in Petite and Grande Champagne.

Theirs is a hand-made, quality cognac and The Halifax Wine Company (01422 256333) has stocks of their individual, lively, almost ginger-spiced, VSOP Petite Champagne cognac (31).

The best glasses to enjoy your cognac are not those big, balloon-shaped monsters invented in the 1920s. Instead choose a tulip-shaped glass, perhaps a small wine glass, where the aromas remain concentrated around the rim. Best food match is a rich chocolate pot alongside a glass of VSOP cognac.