The Cognac region is situated an hour from the centre of Bordeaux.
Whilst in the region towards the end of April to taste this year’s Bordeaux En Primeur, we took a Sunday out from tasting the wines of the Bordeaux region to visit Cognac.
Despite having been to Bordeaux for many years, this was my first trip to Cognac. The most difficult decision was in who to visit. While it would have been fascinating to visit Remy Martin or Hennessy, Glengarry import’s the cognacs from two boutique makers, Cognac Lhéraud and Cognac Tesseron.
Knowing I was going to see the Tesseron family on Monday at Chateau Pontet Canet, Cognac Lhéraud it was. Clement from Cognac Lhéraud was also kind enough to come and visit with us on a Sunday.
Since 1680, generations of the Lhéraud family have lived in the same 10th-Century house in the small village of Lasdoux in the heart of the Petite Champagne region. The first cognac crafted was in 1802 and we were lucky enough to see these bottles in their private cellar.
Until 1970, the Lhéraud family sold their cognac to other producers. It was Guy Lhéraud that made the big decision to stop doing so and to market under Cognac Lhéraud.
This is where there’s some similarity between Cognac Tesseron and Cognac Lhéraud – in that both were previous suppliers to others in the region.
At Cognac Tesseron, the story is very much around XO and the Lot’s produced and numbered to reflect the oldest part of each blend. At Cognac Lhéraud, each cognac is essentially from one year.
As we arrive at Cognac Lhéraud, we are greeted by Clement and introduced to Guy Lhéraud. Although a Sunday, as he does with all visitors, he wanted to come and say hello to start our visit. To our delight, Guy stayed with us for the entire morning, a rare and delightful treat.
He is a man whose heart and spirit drive this family property. One that is committed to quality and nothing else.
As we move around the Domaine, we meet all the family members, everyone lives around Domaine de Lasdoux and has a role to play. This is a place where tradition is passed down through the family.
Cognac is a type of brandy that is distilled from white wine. At Cognac Lhéraud, the grapes come from their vineyards around the Domaine, located in the Petit Champagne region (not to be confused with the north sparkling wine region).
Cognac is distilled twice using copper pot stills, then aged in French oak barrels. The distillation must be carried out within the designated window.
Anything distilled outside that is brandy, not cognac. From there, the ageing determines how the cognac is labelled. Whether it is VS, VSOP or XO. That is until you get to Cognac Lhéraud. Here, you generally take the legal requirements and you do more.
You age for longer and craft finer cognac. While it’s the ‘norm’ to blend to have a minimum age to your cognac that meets the requirements, at Cognac Lhéraud, each bottling is from one year and extends well past the minimum requirement.
Glengarry is proud to be importing Cognac Lhéraud to New Zealand. We recently entered Cognac Lhéraud Limited Edition VSOP Lot 2 into the New Zealand spirit awards.
We are delighted (but not surprised) that it received a double gold medal. This means that every judge awarded it a gold.
One of only nine spirits in the entire competition to receive this award. Cognac Lhéraud Limited Edition VSOP Lot 2 is available online and in all Glengarry stores for $129. (Liz Wheadon)
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29 May 2023