Janoschka Linked_V1_2016

issue #1 © l i n k e d 17
blending and ageing –
a perfect alliance
After the required years maturing in barrels,
the time has now come for the craft
of the Maître de Chai. To create the right
composition of estates and vintages, as
well as having good instincts, the cellar
master also needs a good nose. And, curiously,
what is considered more as indicative
of lower quality for whisky, is the rule
for cognac, for blending the individual waters
of life into the right composition is the
art of the Maître de Chai. The result is a sequence
of complementary aromas that are
as multifaceted as they are unforgettable.
A good deal of patience is also required,
because, while still young, a cognac is not
worth much. Experts say a cognac is at
its best when it is between thirty and seventy
years old. Only then does it shimmer
golden brown and develop the scent of nutmeg,
orange blossom and exotic fruit. So,
having achieved everything a brandy can,
it is moved from the barrel into the “Dame
Jeanne”, a bulbous glass bottle inside a
basket.
But let us not get ahead of ourselves: it
is precisely these years in the barrels that
allow the cognac to mellow into maturity.
The various quality labels provide information
about this. Again here, strict rules apply.
The minimum period a distillate has to
remain in a barrel before it can leave it as
cognac is two years. Then it can be marketed
as three stars or V.S. quality. A V.S.O.P.
(Very Superior Old Pale) has at least four
years aging behind it, while an X.O. (Extra
Old), Napoleon or D’Or has been aged for
six years. Knowing how beneficial time in
the barrel is for this spirit, almost all producers
exceed this legally prescribed minimum
aging period.
While it is always the youngest cognac
used in a composition that determines its
vintage, it is the oldest that determines its
character. Based on their long aging period,
the latter acquire aromas that a younger
distillate will not have. On the question of
age, they chivalrously yield to the young
ones.