HOW WE MAKE COGNAC
Cognac In Blossom
Our philosophy realizes the potential of each ingredient, so that every part of the process can be tasted. This revelatory experience is rooted in our deep respect for the Cognac region, where our Art of Making cognac is all about harnessing, liberating and revealing the spirit found in our terroir, cru and woods. The result is an exuberant cognac infused with the vibrancy of the Cognac region.
GROWING
Cognac can only be produced from grapes in six legally recognized “crus” or areas in the Cognac region. Courvoisier mainly works with the finest four: Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Borderies and Fins Bois. These crus elevate our blends and result in a fuller breadth and depth of harmony, ensuring that we capture the perfect alchemy of flavor and flair.The grapes are harvested at their peak, at the end of summer. Once pressed by the vine growers, the juices are allowed to naturally ferment over seven days, transforming the grape sugars into wine.
Cognac Distillation Process
The wine is double distilled in an intense process unique to cognac. It takes place from the end of the harvest, when all the grape juice has fermented and turned into wine until the 31st of March, by law. To ensure the finest quality, we use a customized distilling process using 25 hectoliter, small pot stills exclusively to ensure complexity. For many of our crus, we distill with lees followed by long maturation in casks to guarantee complexity, depth and a longer finish.
The final product is separated into three parts: the head, the heart and the tails. Only the clear and pure liquid from the heart is used to craft Courvoisier. This distilled spirit or “eau-de-vie” is now ready for aging.
Cognac Aging In Our Signature Wood Barrels
Courvoisier meticulously hand selects French oak trees from sustainable forests with a 50/50 mix of tight grain to create our barrels. This provides an elegant hint of vanilla and a wide grain for spice and a fuller body – qualities necessary to achieve our Courvoisier house style.
Once the staves are cut from the oak trees, the wood is dried naturally and the barrels are completed by the master coopers, they are filled with the eaux-de-vie and the aging process begins. This is how you make a good cognac.
PATRICE PINET
Cognac is more than a process, but an idea that has been passed down through centuries.
Chief Blender
Our Chief Cognac Blender
During his time in previous roles with Courvoisier, Thibaut and our Sixth Chief Blender Patrice Pinet worked closely together collaborating and passing down expertise, as is the tradition in the Cognac region, in anticipation of this milestone transition.
Now as the seventh Chief Blender of the Maison Courvoisier, Thibaut Hontanx brings deep knowledge of the distillation process, born from his global experience at distilleries from South Africa to Martinique. We are delighted to welcome him back to his first love – the vineyard – where he will help us usher in a new era of exuberant cognacs.
MORE TO EXPLORE