My longstanding favorite Cognac has been Hine Triomphe (now $299 Cdn. in Ontario). It has an average age of 40 years in the blend. Hine Antique XO is around 20 -25 years old and is $176 in Ontario. The XO from Remy is $228, Hennessy $229, and Courvoisier $220 which are also around the 20 to 25 year range. Why the price difference? Advertising costs come to mind. I maintain that after Triomphe, diminishing returns set in rapidly. Hine used to produce Reserve Personnelle de la Famille which was around 60 years of age and they still produce vintage Early Landed Cognacs aged by Her Majesty's Customs. I've not tried the Early Landed Cognacs which supposedly have a different flavour profile from the blended Cognacs. Think of Vintage Armagnac v. blended Armagnac.

Two other Cognac houses to try are Albert de Montaubert and Kelt. Albert de Montaubert produces a 25 year old and 50 year old Cognac which have both won a lot of medals at the International Wine and Spirits Competition in the U.K. and Mundus Vini Competition in Berlin (e.g. Silver, Gold and Gold best in class). Kelt however does something that is unique. It ages its Cognacs at sea as was done in the 19th century. The barrels are only partially filled unlike barrels aged on land. What happens is that the spirit moves back and forth in the barrel and there is increased wood contact per volume of spirit which imparts a different flavour profile. A sommelier colleague of mine said that a client of his preferred it to limited production bottles of the big houses. Kelt also produces Armagnac in this method and a vatted malt whisky.

I was at the International Wine Meeting in Chicago earlier this year and there was an entire room devoted to Armagnac. Armagnac allows up to 10 different grape varieties and some distilleries make bottlings with only one varietal. (The geek in me rejoices at this!) Trust me, sampling free Armagnac from one's birth year is one of life's pleasures. (I didn't spit.) Houses to look for include Delord and Castarede. A new product from Armagnac is La Blanche which is a young clear spirit.

A relatively new AOC is Calvados Domfrontais. Unlike Calvados and Calvados Pays d'Auge, which are made entirely from apples, Calvados Domfrontais requires a minimum of 30% pears.