My World of Brandy

In this blogpost I return to Armagnac and this time a single vintage 1978 from the producer Samalens. But first a short description on how Armagnac is made. Armagnac is a brandy from France produced in the Armagnac region in Gascony. It is distilled from a white wine which is made from different allowed grapes such as Colombard, Ugni Blanc etc. The big difference from Cognac is that during distillation most producers uses column stills instead of pot stills. Armagnac is distilled once and after the distillation the ABV is around 52%. So compared to Cognac they say that Armagnac contains a more rustic character. Grapes are harvested in the fall and the wine is distilled throughout the winter. All distillation must be finished by March 31. Only French oak barrels are allowed to be used for the ageing of Armagnac. To be released as a vintage the Armagnac must be at least ten years old. The producer Samalens tarted in 1882 in the Bas-Armagnac region of Armagnac. Samalens are one of th...

Now the time has come to try a grappa. Grappa is not truly a brandy as it is made from the pomace that is left over from winemaking. Grappa has to be made in Italy and made from pomace. That means it cannot be called brandy as brandy requires the distillation of grape juice. Grappa has a long history in Italy and it has been done for maybe eight hundred years now. Grappa can be everything a bad tasting moonshine to an excellent aged grappa competing with good cognacs. For this tasting I have chosen the Morbida grappa from producer Poli in in Schiavone near Bassano Del Grappa in the Veneto region of Italy. If you have the chance please visit the Poli museum in Bassano del Grappa. It is very interesting and also have a part just focusing on corkscrews of all things. Poli distillerie was founded in 1898 in Schiavon which is like 8 km from Bassano del Grappa and it has been run by the Poli family since the start. Poli has five principles that they work after.  1. To choose only f...

For the third blog entry it time to visit the worlds most famous brandy, namely Cognac. Cognac is a type of brandy that is produced in the French district of Cognac and there are many rules regarding Cognac, which limits the grapes used to produce the wine and also the rules says that the brandy must be twice distilled in copper pot stills and aged at least two years in Frenc oak barrels from Limouosin or Troncais. But more of this in a later blog post. Pierre Ferrand is situated in the Angeac terroir in the heart of Grande Champagne in Cognac. They make several different cognacs and Selection des Anges jas been aged about 30 years in oak barrels before being bottled. From what I have heard is that this cognac is blended using 4-5 oak casks. So what can be said of this Cognac? Age: About 30 years. Grapes: 100% Ugni Blanc ABV 40% Colour of the Cognac: Amber Nose of the Cognac: Fruity, oaky with some vanilla and spices. Taste of the Cognac: Fresh, deep with spices and vanill...

For my second blog entry I look at the brandy Armagnac from France and here I focus on the Castarede family. The Castarede family in Armagnac in France has been dealing with Armagnac since 1832. What is Armagnac? Armagnac is a brandy produced in the Armagnac region. It is the oldest brandy in France but the production is much less volume than Cognac, like 30 times less. Also a another difference to Cognac is that in Armagnac a lot is being sold as vintages. I will talk much more about how Armagnac is produced in later blog posts. The Castarede family has four different brands of which I have tried three. First up is the Castarede from 1972. This vintage is made of 100% of the grape Folly Blanche. It was bottled on the third of January 2012. That means that this Armagnac is 40 years old. In the nose I get Marzipan and dark fruits. In the taste there is dark fruits, walnuts, Christmas cake and some spices. The aftertaste is long and spicy. An excellent vintage Armagnac. Next up is ...

Welcome to the blog of My World of Brandy. This blog will be all about the alcoholic drink brandy and the close cousins of brandy. What is brandy? It is a spirit produced by distilling wine. The alcohol level can vary and can be anything from 35% up to 65%. The worlds most famous two brandies are Cognac and Armagnac, both from France. But brandy can be produced all over the world. Sometimes the term brandy can also be used for the close cousins of brandy which is alcoholic drinks produced from fruits and the grape press remains after wine production. The French alcoholic drink Calvados is produced from Apple and pear while the Italian grappa is made from grape press remains. In the European Union for an alcoholic drink to be called brandy it has to be distilled from wine. Other countries may have different rules. Normally brandy is stored for many years in oak barrels before being bottled and sold to the public. Here there are many different rules depending on what is being produced...