Hermitage Cognac said its new ‘Siècle d’Or’ vintage expression spent 100 years ageing in Limousin oak barrels in the heart of Cognac‘s ‘Grande Champagne’ region.
The house said it believed its new offering to be the oldest barrel-aged Cognac so far released. Company founder David Baker described it as a ‘masterpiece of smoothness and quality’.
Just 68 bottles of the limited-edition Cognac are available, presented in hand-blown, one-litre decanters made by Cumbria Crystal.
Baker called it a ‘priceless masterpiece of Cognac history’. It has a price tag of £24,900 per bottle and is available via the Hermitage Cognac site.
Baker added, ‘Provenance and time are the very essence of this 100-year-old Cognac, and I hope those who purchase it will indulge in one of the finest luxury spirits on the market.’
The Cognac was made from Ugni Blanc grapes grown in Lignières-Sonneville, which is in the heart of the Grande Champagne area.
Grande Champagne is the most prized of the six crus within the Cognac region, renowned for its exceptional terroir and fine-toned eaux-de-vie that benefit from long ageing.
Hermitage Siècle d’Or 100 Year Old Cognac was distilled in the Segonzac area using traditional copper Alembic Charentais stills.
Siècle d’Or is the name for France’s golden century, and the 100-year-old Cognac is said to epitomise the quality and craftsmanship of a bygone era.
‘This exceptionally long ageing period has created a wide complexity of rich flavours and aromas, common only with the finest and oldest cognacs,’ said Baker.
‘The balance and depth of flavour is a masterpiece of smoothness and quality. Flavours of cocoa, burnt toffee, mushroom, ginger, candied fruit and kumquat are all wrapped up in an intensely rich rancio found only in the rarest of Cognacs.’
Hermitage Cognac, founded by Baker in 1990, works with different top producers in the famous French region to identify rare stocks that can also be defined by age and vintage.