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Cognac is brandy from a delimited area around the Charente.
The names Cognac, Eau-de-vie de Cognac and Eau-de-vie des Charentes are restricted to wine spirit from grapes grown and distilled in a delimited area: almost all of Charente-Maritime, a large part of Charente and a few villages in Dordogne and Deux-Sèvres. A decree of 1 May 1909 first drew the boundary.
BNIC says the production rules sit in a specification recognised by French decree No. 2015-10 of 7 January 2015, updated on 8 November 2018, and that BNIC monitors compliance. GOV.UK’s register lists the name in category 4, wine spirit, one of the categories of Annex II to the retained Regulation (EC) 110/2008. What is brandy explains how wine spirit and brandy relate in British rules, and the cognac page covers the spirit.
Ugni Blanc supplies almost every vine, and the wine is thin on purpose.
BNIC puts Ugni Blanc in over 98% of the vineyards of the appellation. The grape comes originally from Tuscany, has high acidity and low sugar, and makes a wine of 8% to 9% ABV. BNIC also names Colombard, Folle Blanche, Montils, Sémillon and Folignan, and Folle Blanche is under 1% of plantings.
BNIC bans added sugar and sulphites during fermentation, so the fruit of the grape carries into the spirit. Harvest runs from mid-September to mid-October, and the grapes are pressed at once.
The stills run twice, and only the heart is kept.
The Charentais method is a batch double distillation. The first heat, the first chauffe, turns the wine into a first distillate called the brouillis. The second heat, the bonne chauffe or repasse, distils the brouillis again, and the distiller removes the heads at the start and the tails at the end to keep the heart. Heads or tails from either run can be added back to the next batch.
The deadline for distilling is 31 March following the harvest, and only the double distillation of wine from the latest crop may carry the name.
Six crus divide the region by soil, and Fine Champagne blends two of them.
BNIC lists six crus, first mapped from soil by the geologist Henri Coquand around 1860 and fixed by a decree of 13 January 1938. The table gives each cru and what BNIC says about its soil and spirit.
The six crus of Cognac: soil and character, as BNIC describes them
Grande Champagne
- Soil and setting
- Same soil type as Petite Champagne
- Character
- Floral, with vine flower and dried lime blossom; suited to long ageing in barrel
Petite Champagne
- Soil and setting
- Same soil type as Grande Champagne, with more oceanic influence
- Character
- Floral and fruity, lighter
Borderies
- Soil and setting
- Soil decalcified at the surface
- Character
- Very aromatic, with violet and iris; ages faster than the Champagnes
Fins Bois
- Soil and setting
- Thin clay-limestone in the north; Cretaceous and Tertiary soils in the south
- Character
- Round and fruity, with pressed-grape notes; ages faster than the Champagnes
Bons Bois
- Soil and setting
- Mixed Jurassic and Cretaceous formations, oceanic in the west and continental in the east
- Character
- Fruity, with a taste of terroir appearing
Bois Ordinaires
- Soil and setting
- The coast and two neighbouring islands, strongly Atlantic
- Character
- Fruity, with a marked taste of terroir
| Cru | Soil and setting | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Grande Champagne | Same soil type as Petite Champagne | Floral, with vine flower and dried lime blossom; suited to long ageing in barrel |
| Petite Champagne | Same soil type as Grande Champagne, with more oceanic influence | Floral and fruity, lighter |
| Borderies | Soil decalcified at the surface | Very aromatic, with violet and iris; ages faster than the Champagnes |
| Fins Bois | Thin clay-limestone in the north; Cretaceous and Tertiary soils in the south | Round and fruity, with pressed-grape notes; ages faster than the Champagnes |
| Bons Bois | Mixed Jurassic and Cretaceous formations, oceanic in the west and continental in the east | Fruity, with a taste of terroir appearing |
| Bois Ordinaires | The coast and two neighbouring islands, strongly Atlantic | Fruity, with a marked taste of terroir |
Fine Champagne is a complementary name for spirit drawn only from Grande Champagne, at least 50% of the blend, and Petite Champagne. A label that names a single cru means all of the spirit in the blend comes from that cru. Both are optional wording.
Cognac ages in oak, and the age on the label is the youngest spirit in the blend.
Cognac is aged without interruption and only in oak, and BNIC adds that the age on the label follows the youngest spirit blended in. Blending is traditional but, by BNIC’s account of the process, not covered by precise requirements in the specification. Long ageing brings the rancio character that BNIC describes as forest floor, mushrooms and walnut oil.
Water comes late. BNIC says the cellar master adds distilled water to reach the strength wanted, a step it calls dilution, and BNIC gives 40% ABV as the minimum for sale. Cognac has not been allowed to be sold for consumption under two years old since 18 March 1975, and it keeps the age it had at bottling.
VS, VSOP and XO name minimum ages, not exact ones.
The table follows BNIC’s own list of ageing categories, checked on 1 November 2026. Each age is a minimum for the youngest spirit in the blend, so a VSOP may hold much older spirit and a bottle never states a maximum. BNIC also lists tiers at three and five years.
Cognac ageing grades: minimum age of the youngest spirit and the other terms BNIC lists
VS
- Minimum age
- Two years
- Other terms BNIC lists
- 3 Étoiles, Sélection, De Luxe, Very Special
VSOP
- Minimum age
- Four years
- Other terms BNIC lists
- Réserve, Vieux, Rare, Royal, Very Superior Old Pale
Napoléon
- Minimum age
- Six years
- Other terms BNIC lists
- Très Vieille Réserve, Très Vieux, Héritage, Très Rare, Excellence, Suprême
XO
- Minimum age
- Ten years
- Other terms BNIC lists
- Hors d’âge, Extra, Ancestral, Ancêtre, Or, Gold, Impérial, Extra Old
XXO
- Minimum age
- Fourteen years
- Other terms BNIC lists
- Extra Extra Old
| Grade | Minimum age | Other terms BNIC lists |
|---|---|---|
| VS | Two years | 3 Étoiles, Sélection, De Luxe, Very Special |
| VSOP | Four years | Réserve, Vieux, Rare, Royal, Very Superior Old Pale |
| Napoléon | Six years | Très Vieille Réserve, Très Vieux, Héritage, Très Rare, Excellence, Suprême |
| XO | Ten years | Hors d’âge, Extra, Ancestral, Ancêtre, Or, Gold, Impérial, Extra Old |
| XXO | Fourteen years | Extra Extra Old |
A bottle labelled XO therefore holds spirit of at least ten years by that list, and six years is the Napoléon tier. Hors d’âge and Extra sit in the same ten-year tier.
Armagnac differs from cognac in still, place and blend.
BNIA reports that roughly 95% of Armagnac is run through a continuous copper still, where cognac uses batch double distillation. Armagnac comes from parts of the Gers, the Landes and Lot-et-Garonne. It also sells vintage bottles from a single harvest, and BNIA puts XO at a minimum of ten years, the same figure as cognac. Cognac is traditionally a blend of spirits of different ages and areas, though BNIC says blending is not required.
Cognac is drunk neat in a tulip, over ice, frozen or long.
BNIC suggests a tulip or stem glass for neat cognac: nose it first, then take a small sip. The brandy snifter page covers the balloon-shaped alternative. For ice, BNIC names VSOP as its example: the cold dulls the sense of strength and lets candied and dried fruit aromas out. Frozen cognac is stored at -18°C.
For long drinks, a BNIC educators’ note from 2020 suggests short pours of half an ounce to an ounce with a tonic or a dry grapefruit soda: a VSOP with an aromatic tonic, or a young VS with the soda.
Cognac is the base of the Sidecar, the Stinger and the Champs-Élysées.
The IBA specifies cognac at 50 ml in the Sidecar, with triple sec and lemon, 50 ml in the Stinger, with white crème de menthe, and 35 ml in the French Connection, with amaretto. None of the three names a grade.
Cognac is also what the Sazerac began with, per the IBA’s note, and one of the three equal measures in the Vieux Carré. The Champagne Cocktail uses 10 ml. Cognac also anchors the Champs-Élysées with green Chartreuse, lemon and sugar syrup, the Harvard with sweet vermouth and grenadine, the Japanese Cocktail with orgeat, the Metropole with dry vermouth and bitters, the Brandy Crusta and Between the Sheets.
The Brandy Alexander turns up in Valentine’s Day drinks and, with the Champagne Cocktail, in Christmas drinks and pairings.