Cognac in pictures

db’s Lucy Shaw was lucky enough to chase the sun last week during a two-day trip to visit high-end Cognac house Frapin, whose headquarters in Charente, Château de Fontpinot, gives Pichon Baron and Palmer in Bordeaux competition. It looked particularly pretty framed by fiery autumn leaves.

Frapin owns 340 hectares of land in Grande Champagne, which is considered to be Cognac’s finest and most prized terroir. Of the 340 hectares, 240 are planted with predominantly Ugni Blanc vines, which communications manager Thomas Soret  is standing among here.

After a tour of the vines we were given a tour of the Frapin distillery. To add complexity to its Cognacs, Frapin distills on the lees; a practice that’s quite unusual in the region. The company’s biggest markets are the US and China.

Our next stop was one of the many barrel cellars within the Frapin complex. Frapin ages its brandies in a mixture of dry and wet cellars, the most highly regarded of which is known as the ‘paradise’ cellar.

We were then treated to a tasting of some of the top Cognac’s in the Frapin range, including the VIP XO and Plume.

The Plume, a blend of 20 eau de vie aged for 60 years, housed in a pretty decanter framed in rose gold, turned out to be the most popular expression in the tasting, with its smooth notes of orange, apricot and fig.

After our cellar tour PR guru Kate Sweet, drinks writer Nina Caplan and Rebecca Fraser of Louis Latour Agencies kicked back in the pretty drawing room with Frapin VS and ginger ale cocktails.

Cellar master Patrice Piveteau admitted to that he wasn’t keen on his Cognacs being mixed in cocktails at first, but has come round to the idea.

“We’re working a lot with bartenders now who are incredibly serious about the quality of their cocktails and in order to make a good cocktail you need a good base spirit,” he said.

Our favourite of these four canapés were the decadent cubes of foie gras and gingerbread.

Frapin’s export director Bertrand Verduzier and cellar master Patrice Piveteau pose for photos by the fireplace. During the trip Verduzier encouraged us to boycott the brandy balloon

“I’d like the brandy balloon to disappear. Tulip glasses are the best way to experience a Cognac as you get more aromas coming through and with balloons you just get alcohol. We always encourage consumers to enjoy their Cognac in tulip glasses as they are the best size and shape for the spirit,” he said.

Among some of the daring pairings we tried at the château were Frapin VSOP with an indulgent foie gras and black truffle stuffed pasta dish.

To pair with the 1989 vintage we enjoyed a delicious hunk of turbot with garlic, almonds and broccoli purée.

Nina felt very at home in Frapin’s fairytale castle until she found out the left turret was haunted…

Meanwhile, Lucy couldn’t resist posing by the front door and pretending she lived there…

We rather liked this giant glowing egg lamp in our bedroom.

On the final morning of our visit we were treated to an epic tasting of some of the oldest vintage expressions in the Frapin range. The house is holding back and ageing more stock each year in order to be able to release older vintages onto the market when they’re ready.

“Vintage Cognac is an extremely small category. It’s even small for us but it’s the essence of what we do as we want to create something unique each year. Our vintage Cognacs are a point of difference that shows what we’re all about. We’re a wine to start with from a specific, prestigious terroir – it’s all about when a moment meets a place,” Piveteau said.

Among them were the earthy, nutty 1983, the mineral, floral 1982 and the citrus, spicy 1979. Of the three, the 1983 emerged as the most popular.