Reading the Label

The age of the cognacs are imporant to the quality but it is very rare that you can actually read the exact age of the cognacs on the label. However there are general classification rules that can help the consumer:  

V.S. (Very Special) or *** (3 star): Cognacs whose youngest eau-de-vie is at least two years old.

V.S.O.P. (Very Superior Old Pale), Reserve: Cognacs whose youngest eau-de-vie is at least four years old.

X.O (Extra Old): Cognacs whose youngest eau-de-vie is at least six years old.

The above are minimum requirements and normally producer’s uses eaux-de-vie that are much older than the minimum requirements for their blends. For example a V.S. cognac will normally be at least 4-5 years old and a X.O cognac will normally include eaux-de-vie that are 20 to 25 years old.

Vintage cognac (Cognacs made with eaux-de-vie from a single harvest) is not a common practice although some houses like Delamain still use part of their harvest for vintage production. The year of the harvest is then specified on the label along with the date that it was bottled. Producers of vintage cognacs need to follow strict requirements in order to guarantee that the cognacs are genuine vintage.   

Below are some of the terms that you will also frequently find used on the cognac label:

Terms describing origin:

Cru: French word used to describe a growing region. In Cognac there are six different sub-regions or cru’s (see section of delimited regions): Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Borderies, Fin Bois, Bon Bois and Bois Ordinaires.

Grande Fine Champagne or Fine Champagne: at least 51% of the grapes come from Grande Champagne, and not more than 49% come from Petite Champagne. 

Grande Champagne: the best growing area or Cru of the Cognac Region. The Grande Champagne in Cognac is the appellation where the best cognacs come from.

Grand Cru: means that all of the grapes used in the cognac came from the same cru. In general, if a cognac was produced in one of the better cru’s it would be advertised as such (for example Grand Champagne). Therefore the Grand Cru is normally an indication that grapes from a less attractive cru. Single Distillery: all eau-de-vie coming from one distillery. But note the grapes could have come from multiple different vineyards and simply distilled all in one place.

Estate Bottled: Aged and bottled on the estate which also was also growing the grapes. 

Terms describing age:

Extra: Term used to represent a Cognac older than an XO. However this is relative term and can be misleading as one producer’s ten-year old XO may be another producer’s VSOP.

Hors d’Age (French for “of the Ages”): term given to very old Cognacs

Napoléon: Term used if the cognac has aged in oak casks for at least 6.5 years. There is no maximum age for a Napoleon.

Tres Vieux (French for “very old”): Tres Vieux is generally the oldest Cognac in a producer’s catalog and many times contain eaux-de-vie that is more than 50 years old.