Q&A: Wine & Food Questions
Cognac
What is the very best cognac,and why?
Answer From Expert Roger C. Bohmrich, MW
I certainly do enjoy Cognac occasionally, and I have been lucky enough to find several I thought were exceptional. I would find it very difficult to say that one Cognac was the "very best," as I would with wines. There are many that stand out in both categories. With respect to Cognac, there are relatively few options (compared to wine)that you might find in any one store. I would say that price is not a reliable indicator; for around $50 a bottle, you can find standard selections from large Cognac houses and far superior examples from relatively unknown labels. All the well-known brands offer a wide range of Cognacs of differing ages, and each of the major houses has an ultra high-end bottling selling for thousands of dollars a bottle (such as Remy Martin Louis XIII). If your budget is less generous, here is a short list of producers (I'm sure others should be added) who, in my experience, offer high-quality Cognac at all levels: Delamain, Tesseron, Hine, Gabriel & Andreu, Prunier, Pierre Ferrand, and Leopold Gourmel.
About The Expert
Roger has enjoyed a lengthy career in the wine trade as an importer and retailer, and at present he is an educator, speaker and consultant. He set up and managed Millesima USA, a New York merchant affiliated with Europe's leader in direct sales of fine wines to consumers. Previously, he served as senior executive of Frederick Wildman & Sons, traveling regularly around the world to visit wineries and taste the new vintage from barrel. Roger became one of America's first Masters of Wine in 1993.
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