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Notes&Editorials |
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Notes&Editorials |
| It all started with lack of knowledge. How to really taste a Cognac? Can we cross a big divide between professional and amateur tasting? Are there mysteries that separates an amateur and professional? So many unknowns, so many challenges that I have decided to enroll in a professional cognac tasting course. 20 weeks duration, once a week for about 2 hours. Here are some notes and observations. 21/01/99 35 professionals (viticulteurs, employees of Cognac houses) and 1 amateur met at the offices of ORECO. We all paid F900 to learn tasting of Cognac. After warm welcome from the bosses of ORECO, we choose preferred time and day. I have ended up in a group of 11. Most in their 20s, some a bit older, one woman and 10 men. Our teacher, Francis Audemard is a well respected cognac broker but most importantly one of the best professional tasters in the business. A jovial, bearded man from a well known family of tasters and brokers. 26/01/99 Our first session began at 10:30 promptly. No "Charentaise Quarter" of lateness allowed. This is a serious stuff and no rain or sleet was a good enough excuse for lateness. Francis Audemard got straight to business. For 2 hours, while he talked, we tested. He talked about different crus, about distillation ( Rémy Martin vs. Martell basically one with lie, a sediment from first distillation, and the other without) methods, about quality. We, on the other hand, had 2 sets of clear, white tulip glasses. In the first set was a clear eaux-de-vie from Grande Champagne and from Bons Bois. In the second, the same eaux-de-vie but with added water. We tested with our nose only! Grande Champagne was flowery, refined and long. Bons Bois was fruity, aggressive and short. The Grande Champagne eaux-de-vie has a bluish hue that indicated it was distilled with lie. After an hour and half of testing and talking, it was time to test. 2 sets of 3 glasses, one set clear white and the other blue. The objective was to identify the eaux-de-vie in each glass. Not an easy task. After some trying a verdict - Bons Bois, Bons Bois and Grande Champagne. Score - 20 out of 20! What helped was the 2nd set of glasses, the one with water. It brought home the message; fruits vs. flowers, aggressiveness vs. finesse, length vs. shortness. 02/02/99 Today, everyone was on time except an amateur. We tested Bons Bois, Fins Bois and Grande Champagne. In a similar set up of 2 sets of 2 glasses plus a set of 4, we worked hard. The Grande Champagne sample was the most difficult, it was an eaux-de-vie without lie. It sure was different; dry, distant traces of flowers, touch of sour cream. The Fins Bois sample had fresh grapes, sweetness and fruity aromas. Bons Bois was full of force with a strange hint of grapefruit. All of this led us to talk about vinification, differences in the soil. Why there are almost no VS qualities from Grande Champagne, a difference that the material from which the alembic is made makes to the taste. And, finally the test - 4 glasses with and 4 glasses without water added. A very tricky and complicated test. It took me a while to get it right: Fins Bois, Grande Champagne, Fins Bois and Bons Bois. The closeness of Fins and Bons Bois was separated by the length of aromas, the dryness of Grande Champagne stood on its own. 09/02/99 It was a Petite Champagne day. Less flowery than Grande Champagne, with light hints of fruits but much finesse this eaux-de-vie is very, very interesting. It was also a day of wide ranging subjects; vodka, whisky, rum and even Fine Bordeaux, a brandy made from Bordeaux wines. We talked about Hennessy and Martell activities in Borderies cru and thick, some 30 cm in height, BNIC rule book governing the distillation process. As one viticulteur pointed out, the paper is a cigarette rolling thin paper on which those rules are printed. We talked about aging on the sea like Kelt Cognac, Akvavit Linea and certain Armagnac is doing. The entertainment today was quick chat about body painting in Jonzac. There were 5 samples to taste from 4 crus; Bons Bois, Fins Bois, Grande and Petite Champagne. Proving the point that when you not well you shouldn't test, this amateur failed. Hopefully, next week will be better. 16/02/99 missed session 23/02/99 All about Borderies cru; light, finesse, floral (cétone) with violet and iris dominating. Eaux-de-vie from Borderies is longer than, for example Petite Champagne. It often brings an 'odor of lees', it is dry. Much discussion centered on blending and distilling styles; Hennessy vs. Rémy Martin and eaux-de-vie prices. Tasting test was tough but fair. Cru tasting was about fundamentals: Bons Bois - sharp, Fins Bois - sharp, rounder, Petite Champagne - sharp, plain, Grande Champagne - sharp, rounder, plain, flowery, Borderies - sharp, rounder, flowery. Got all but 1 right. Peter de vin - a patois (native dialect) expression describing a bad wine. It has entered now our vocabulary. 02/03/99 Distillation. A copper alambic with bronze/zinc faucets and utilities. Heat provided preferably by gas. We covered separator (chapiteau) and all the other alambic components. This is one of the most fascinating aspects of Cognac making but when the we wanted to know who started double distillation. The answer, with a smile, was Chevalier de Croix Maron. An old legend but is it right? A very complex test of various stages of the distilled eaux-de-vie but we got it twice Très Bien. And, of course, we talked. About La Guardia vineyard that presses vertically, about alambic maintenance. Good hard working session. 09/03/99 Distillation continued ... 25 hl an ideal size of an alambic. Automation is great to monitor the distillation but in the end its the distillers nose, gut feel and experience that makes it magical eaux-de-vie. Testing eaux-de-vie which included various stages of distillation like Tête (head), 1/4 before, coeur (heart), 1/4 after, secondes (seconds) and Mal trie (a mix of tête and secondes) and different samples from various distillers, was not easy. We got, in the first round, one out of 4 wrong but in the second round, we got three out of 5 wrong. Another new word for our vocabulary: Mistel, a sweet fortified wine just like Pineau des Charentes. 16/03/99 And more about distillation ... from wine to Tétes, Brouillis, Queues and back again. Then Coeur, Secondes and over again. This is real art of making eaux-de-vie. And there are styles and methods; Martell, Rémy Martin, Hennessy and so many, many individual viticulteurs. If we talk about signature taste of a Cognac than it all begins at the distillation time. New grape Folignan spark a heated discussion as much as Claudia Cardinale, Catherine Deneuve and Vanessa Paradis proving the point that we are all human after all. 23/03/99 Day of faults in wines used for distillation. About 97% faults are defined by 10 problems: sulfur, bad harvest (i.e. frost), hygiene (poor cleaning of alambic, vats), chemical presence etc. If the problems are not rectified at the distillation they resurface, with vengeance, about 10 years into aging of the eaux-de-vie. To fix them than is much more difficult. The group tasted seven samples. We got 5 out of 7 right. 30/03/99 Continuation of faults in wines; TDN, fertilizers, oils, fat, rancid etc. 7 samples were reviewed while we exchange views on great chefs and great restaurants. Why so few offer a digestive at the end of the meal? With reference to famous Cognac tasters, we all thought that no one taster can recognize all of the tastes. 4 samples tasted (Grande Champagne, 2 faults, Bons Bois). We got 3 out of 4. The days of 100% tasting results are all but history! As the readership of this notes increases, we need to clarify the following: These notes are written to show the complexity and uniqueness of making eaux-de-vie, of developing Cognac, of tasting Cognac and of many, many points in production that a producer must watch for to avoid problems. And finally, these note are written by an amateur about a fabulous subject which is badly explained, poorly promoted and under marketed.". 06/04/99 "Much ado about faults" but also much about the positive aspects of eaux-de-vie and commercially available Cognacs. Difficult test when we could only get 3 out 5 right. 13/04/99 We have been absent as the tasting in Oslo, Norway was at full swing at the Bar 1. 20/04/99 All about aging using Martell's Fins Bois samples. They are fine, dry, woody and round having a very distinct Martell signature taste. Much was spent of talking about International Dictionary of Tasting developed by Patrick Carpentier (Hennessy) and Jean Rabourdin. 4 samples to test of which we got 3 correctly. 27/04/99 The session of Borderies cru with a full range of samples dating from 1996 through to 1991. Main effort was to track the development of eaux-de-vie through 3 phases; extraction, digestion and oxidation. A very interesting discussion followed about the role of oak in the development of Cognac. How does the oak composition reacts and develops eaux-de-vie into Cognac. The importance of the cellulose (gives sweetness), lignine (helps dissolve tannin) and phenoliques of which courmertines is so important to the quality of old Cognacs. Key to remember that there are some 280 different components making Cognac. To balance them, to get the best out of them is the real challenge of the Cognac maker. We got 2 out 4 right buoyed by Francis Audemard reminder: "Tasting is about first impressions, tasting is with senses and not with logic". We liked that very much. 07/05/99 Today we did premier cru du Cognac - Grande Champagne. Four ages of eaux-de-vie; 1996 - where extraction occurs, 1993-4 where digestion begins and 1990-92 where aging begins. This is a serious tasting stuff. Much discussion on merits of brandy vs. cognac, government taxing of Cognac were discussed. Tasting results were only 3 out of 5. 11/05/99 A day of Fins Bois cru. Much discussion on Tronçais (larger grain, clearer eaux-de-vie) Vs Limousin (finer grain, more reddish, tannin affected eaux-de-vie) oak woods. Martell known for Tronçais and Hennessy is known for using Limousin oaks in their casks. And tasting struck a border of disaster with only 2 out of 6 being correct. 18/05/99 A day of Grande Champagne. Much tasting, lots of nuances; from Limousin oak oxidation to a complex rancio with quick changing aromas. Old experience says, even for the inexperienced - older eaux-de-vie should be tested over a longer period as the aromas develops and change with time. 25/05/99 Day of many crus, distillates and ages. One tough day which included talk about golf, summer capital of Cognac, a lovely town of Fouras at the seaside. 08/06/99 Absent while checking the state of Cognac in England. 25/06/99 A graduation day. In a two part ceremony hosted by Martine Fourquet, Director of ORECO, new crop of eaux-de-vie du Cognac tasters enjoyed themselves. First, we visited vast chais (aging warehouses) of ORECO expertly guided by Mme Fourquet. In the second part, at the head office of ORECO, we were welcomed by its President, Bernard de Mollosol, had a CognacTonic and received hard earned diplomas. |
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18 March 2000 Copyright © 2000 Lusina ISG, Inc. |
A great course, a great
instructor and great fellow tasters!