What are the cognac regions?

Cognac has six crus: Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Borderies, Fins Bois, Bons Bois and Bois Ordinaires, also called Bois a Terroirs.

The specification of the designation of origin calls them additional geographical indications. Each cru has its own demarcated area within the wine region around the town of Cognac. A house may put the name of a cru on the label when the entire bottle comes from that area.

The wine region of the Cognac designation of origin covers over 87,648 hectares, divided over the six crus.

The area lies in the Charente and the Charente-Maritime, on the Atlantic side of France. According to the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac, an average wine estate there has about twenty hectares. The boundaries of the crus are fixed in the cahier des charges and do not change with fashion.

A cru may appear on the label when all the eaux-de-vie in the bottle come from that delimited area.

If no area is stated, the cognac may be composed from all six crus. Many houses work this way, because a blend across several areas carries their consistent house style. Stating a cru is therefore a narrowing of the origin, not a quality judgement by the trade organisation.

Fine Champagne is the designation for a blend of Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne with at least 50 percent Grande Champagne.

It is therefore not a seventh area, but a fixed combination of two existing crus. The cahier des charges lists the designation in the same enumeration as the six crus. If eau-de-vie from a third cru is added, the right to use the designation Fine Champagne lapses.

The region says nothing about age; age is stated separately on the label as VS, VSOP, XO or XXO.

For cognac, VS applies from two years, VSOP from four years and XO from ten years. Since 2018 there is also XXO from fourteen years. A bottle can therefore state a cru and an age class at the same time, for example Grande Champagne with XO. Two separate pieces of information on the same label, both checked.

Cognac must contain at least 40 percent alcohol when sold to the consumer, regardless of which cru the eaux-de-vie come from.

That lower limit is in the cahier des charges and applies to the whole area. The eau-de-vie comes out of the still stronger; the house brings it down step by step during maturation with water or with weak eau-de-vie. A cognac of 40 percent is therefore not a diluted product but the endpoint of a long process. Higher than 40 percent is also allowed, and that happens with cask strength bottlings.