Alliance Française de Washington

An Evening of Cognac

Before the guests arrived, cognac glasses were already delicately set on the table on the first floor of the AllianceFrançaise de Washington. It was a Thursday evening, but the warm air of what had been a sunny afternoon filled the room with an enchanting spring breeze. Guillaume Lamy stood calmly and poised, greeting with a smile each of the guests that entered the room. He was filling some of the wine glasses himself, offering Pineau des Charantes to the invitees. After some minutes, all of the guests took their seats at the table, and Lamy officially began the Cognac Tasting.

On a projector, Lamy displayed information about the production of cognac. Photos accompanied the fascinating presentation, and the attendees were welcome to raise their hands at any time with questions. In no time, the atmosphere turned very friendly, and people were cheerfully sharing their comments as the presentation went along.

The Cognac region is located one hour from Bordeaux. Contrary to what many people think, cognac is not made of champagne wine but rather a very specific wine distillate. Lamy explained that, according to their maturity, there are basically four types of cognacs: grande champagne (30 years maturity), petite champagne (20 years maturity), borderies (10 to 12 years maturity), and fins bois (2 to 4 years maturity). 70% of the world’s production is of younger cognacs, leaving the finest aged samples for the discriminating few.

“If a cognac does not smell and does not taste like wine, then it is not a good cognac,” Lamy assured. Indeed, the production of cognac must follow the AOC (Appellation d’origine contrôlée) standards. In compliance to this French certification, 90% of the blend should only contain the Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche, and Colombard grape varieties. 10% of Sémillon, Blanc-Ramé, Jurançon, Sélect, and Montils are allowed.

To describe the distillation process of cognac, Lamy used the body of an animal as a metaphor. In the copper distillation filters, the first alcohol particles that evaporate are the head (and they are indeed not good for the brain); then follows the “baby cognac”, the “heart” that you want to keep; and finally the “tail,” a portion to be discarded because it does not have much flavor. “Copper is used in the distillation filters because it does not give off any chemicals,” Lamy explained.

The ageing is also a crucial step in the cognac-making process. “For cognac, it’s got to be oak,” Lamy noted about the ageing barrels. The preferred oak type for ageing cognacs is called the Limousin oak, after the name of the forest where those trees are in France. The oak barrels can be stored in either dry or humid cellars, although the former are the ones that can reveal all the finesse in a cognac. “You could also have blends of both types of cellars,” said Lamy.

The next step in the cognac life cycle is blending, which according to Lamy,  “takes a long time to blend things right.” Blending ensures a correct balance in the final mix, and it allows a great variety of flavors to emerge from the cognac, making a house signature for each cognac.

Lamy is the Vice President of the North American division of Pierre Ferrand, a select producer of fine spirits. He brought with him four different Pierre Ferrand cognacs, and given the interest of the crowd, he surprised them with a fifth – and very rare – cognac… of 70 years maturity! Although the colors of those cognacs varied between one another, Lamy noted that “color is irrelevant for cognac. Color is adjusted with caramel. It has to, otherwise there will be a huge discrepancy of colors.” And with that, another “cognac myth” had been dispelled.

The night came to a lively end, as people at the table started conversations of interesting everyday topics, spurred on no doubt by the flow of cognac. Lamy seemed pleased with the results, and all the attendees cheerfully toasted to cognac. A fitting quote by Lamy brought the evening to a close:

“Wine is a living organism when you put it in a bottle… so don’t put too much water in your spirits, otherwise you’ll break them.”

Would you like to attend an event like this one? Join us at the Alliance Française for a savory Champagne Tasting, next Friday, April 16^th at 6:30 p.m.