KNOW HOW
Viticulture
Our vineyard extends over a little less than 150 ha in total.
The major part (130 ha) is composed of Ugni Blanc intended 100% for the elaboration of our cognac brandies.
This rich terroir also allows us to produce red grape varieties such as Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon which will give Charentais wines of character.
In white grape varieties come then 3 ha of Chardonnay and 4 ha of Colombard respectively for the production of Vin de Pays Charentais and for Pineau des Charentes, a specialty of our region.
At harvest time, our harvest lasts around three weeks.
Winemaking
After the harvest, the grapes are pressed to extract the juice. We let the juices decant for about 40 minutes before proceeding. to filtration.
Once the juice has been filtered comes the fermentation stage. All our vats are thermoregulated at 23 degrees for the duration of the fermentation (between 5 and 7 days) in order to preserve a maximum of aromas.
The wines remain on the lees until distillation to obtain more roundness as well as a freshness that we will find in our spirits.
Before distillation, our wines contain around 9% degrees on average. This low level allows an optimal concentration of aromatic substances and high acidity, essential for the natural preservation of wine.
Distillation
The distiller is a real alchemist, his role is to sublimate the wine into eau-de-vie, thus concentrating the aromas.
The typicality of Charentaise distillation is said to be " iron it » or double distillation, that is to say that we will distil twice to obtain the cognac brandy and keep only the best brandies.
Distillation takes place after the harvest between October 1 and March 31 of the year following the harvest.
Aging
Following the distillation, the cognac brandies are put into oak barrels to begin their aging processes.
At the time of barreling we reduce the brandies to 66 degrees. We use 20% new French oak barrels in strong toast. This heating method quickly brings an amber color, aromas of mocha, liquorice, grilled almonds, and subtle notes of vanilla.
After several years undergrowth, exchanges with oxygen and wood will allow the extraction of tannins and their maturity.
It will therefore take more than 2 years to make a Cognac VS, more than 4 years to make a Cognac VSOP and more than 10 years to make a Cognac XO.
The angels' share, which contributes to aging, is a phenomenon of natural evaporation of alcohol, on which a fungus (torula compniacensis) feeds and blackens all our walls and roofs in the aging cellars. It is approximately 1.6% annually in our cellars.
The Art of Blending
To make our range of cognac A. de Vacqueur, we tasted many brandies to choose only the profiles with well-defined characteristics and corresponding to the profiles that we have defined.
To achieve this, a long tasting process was put in place. Several dozen samples have been scrupulously selected and tasted in order to retain only the best batches.
Then comes the art of blending where each drop of brandy will be important. Cognac is generally a blended product where the role of the Cellar Master is essential in the creation of our products.
