Maison Prunier continues a 19th century tradition of bottling vintage cognacs "natural cask strength".

A box and a unique case

Our cognac vintages, delivered in oak individual boxes, are naturally limited to a few hundred bottles. These bubble bottles are made in France according to a traditional method. The manufacturing process makes each bottle unique. The PRUNIER vintage bottles are all numbered and sealed with wax. Our vintages are directly inspired by a case made in the 19th century by the ancestors of the current leader.

1 / Cognac Petite Champagne 1980 - 54.8 °

2 / Cognac Petite Champagne 1979 - 54.1 °

3 / Cognac Fine woods 1974 - 52,7 °

4 / Cognac Fine Wood 1968 - 61.9 °

All our cognac vintages: http://www.cognacprunier.fr/les-millesimes-uk.html

What is a vintage cognac?

A vintage cognac is a cognac eau-de-vie or a blend of eaux-de-vie issued from the distillation of wines all harvested the same year. The trader or the winemaker must be able to prove the age of the latter: each drum must be sealed and listed in the presence of a sworn representative.

The same control is performed when the cask’s contents is bottled. During the ageing, nothing can be added or removed. These eaux-de-vie are aged without the personal touch of men. Once the ageing is over, it is possible to assemble different terroirs of cognac (Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Borderies, Fins Bois, Bons Bois,). Maison Prunier decides to choose a single terroir, a single distillation and a single cask for each year according to its quality. This practice is more risky than conventional ageing : we indeed keep our eaux-de-vie for several years or even decades without knowing what will be the result.

"Natural cask strength: "stronger and more concentrated cognacs"

The term "cask strength” means that the degree of the cognac bottled will be the degree of the eau-de-vie as it was in the cask. This term was popularized in Scotland and refers to a whisky that has not been diluted before bottling. However, the Charentais also used to consume Cognac directly from their cellars, taken from barrels and drank it as it was. In the case of our vintages no transformation is performed between the barrel and the bottling.

Taste a vintage "natural cask strength"

Deciding to commercialize cognac vintages is a very pure approach that enhances the authenticity of the cognac. This might annoy the drinkers of standardized blends. Our vintage cognacs have the particularity of being the expression of a single terroir.

At home, you can taste these vintages by adding water containing few minerals to reduce the alcoholic strength. These cognacs can be drunk as a digestive and as an aperitif with ice. It is better to use a tulip glass that concentrates the flavors and releases them smoothly, unlike balloon glasses.

If you are looking for a vintage that is not available on our online store, please contact us directly.

French version: http://www.cognacprunier.fr/blog/article51/cognacs-millesimes-1968-1974-1979-1980