The Wheat of Virgin Spaces

Pre-phyloxera cognac - that is cognac dating from before 1872, is fundamentally different from modern cognac in a way that isn’t true of most other spirits or other wines. Pre-phyloxera, a Bordeaux vineyard would have been planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc or Petite Verdot - after phyloxera the same vineyards were replanted with exactly the same varieties, grafted on to American rootstocks. The situation in Cognac was different. The original Cognac vineyards - which are believed to date back to Roman times, were planted almost entirely with Folle Blanche. Folle Blanche is a capricious vine, low yielding and difficult to grow and harvest. Under huge financial pressure, when it come to re-planting the vineyards after phyloxera, the Cognac growers replanted with grafted Ugni Blanche, which yields a less interesting brandy, but is much higher yielding and easier to grow. Today, less than 5% of the total Cognac vineyard is Folle Blanche, the rest is all Ugni Blanche (and the Cognac vineyard is far smaller - just on 80 000 hectares compared to 230 000 hectares in it’s heyday in the mid 19th century).

The change in varietals, changed the taste of the spirit. Pre-phyloxera cognacs are bolder and less refined than today’s blends. They are more floral, more intense, there’s more chocolate and vanilla and licorice aftertaste, and less of the leathery quality often found in modern cognacs. The colour is darker and richer, and the finish is longer.

1811 was regarded at the time as the greatest vintage in living memory, and is now universally held to be the finest vintage of the 19th century throughout the vineyards of Western Europe. A long hot summer and a warm dry autumn meant an abundant harvest of perfectly ripe grapes, from Bordeaux to Burgundy, from the Rheingau to the vineyards of Tokaji. In Cognac, the folle blanche
reached an unequalled level of perfection, and the distillers knew that they were dealing with a once in a lifetime harvest. In the same year, Napoleon himself visited the region, and was presented with a barrel of cognac as a gift for his young son. Many ascribed the extraordinary weather to the remarkable astronomical event that had dominated the year - Halley’s comet. The comet was visible by astronomers for 17 months, but for two months - September and October 1811, exactly the time grapes were harvested - it was clearly visible to the naked eye, illuminating the night sky with a coma that at one point exceeded the diameter of the sun. It was taken as sign of supernatural blessing on the harvest, which henceforth was known as “The Comet Vintage”.

The exceptional quality of 1811 cognac was recognised immediately, and the leading producers marked the vintage either with the date on the bottle, or, more unusually, with a picture of the comet forever associated with the vintage. The date “1811″ or the star (as the comet symbol soon became) were regarded as signs of infallible quality, and the leading producers were not slow to exploit this. By the late nineteenth century there were a plethora of “1811 Cognacs”. Many of these still survive today, and most are very fine, but 95% should correctly be regarded as tributes to the vintage of 1811, rather than as the actual product of the year - producers simply used the designation “1811″ as a way of signifying their very best and oldest blend, regardless of the actual composition of the brandies. In the 1930’s and 1959’s unscrupulous producers mainly in the US re-bottled many ordinary brandies under faked “1811″ labels - these are easy to recognise, but still turn up every year on auction and can fool the unwary.

True cognac of the 1811 vintage can be recognised first and foremost by the bottle, which must clearly date from the 1820’s or 1830’s, when this cognac was originally bottled. It’s extraordinarily rare - whereas for instance Sothebys and Christies routinely have a couple of bottles each year of the late 19th century-bottled 1811’s  - more correctly seen as tributes to the harvest - true
contemporary bottlings are almost never seen.

Truly great cognacs have always been rare. Recognising this, the major houses have usually allocated their very finest bottlings to a very select clientele. At the top of the pecking order have always been the most renowned French restaurants, especially those in Paris, and today the cellars of these establishments are without doubt the principle repository of the finest 19th century cognacs.

This bottle originates from the cellars of a famous restaurant on the Place de la Madeleine that closed in the mid 1950’s. It was then bought by a major French wine collector and remained in his cellar for nearly 50 years. He died recently, and this bottle comes directly from his widow.

The magnum is in perfect condition, with original cork and much of the original wax. The level is just above the base of the neck. It’s blown from heavy, black-green glass and dates from the 1820’s or early 1830’s (more likely the former). Because of the backlighting, it’s darker in reality than it appears in the photos. A single standard 750ml Bordeaux bottle has been added in one of the photos, to give an idea of the dimensions of the bottle.

As a dealer in this field I handle many wonderful vintage bottles, but every now and again something comes up that’s so unique and extraordinary that it’s a real wrench to part with. This bottle is a classic example.