23/04/2025
We have first visited Cognac Voyer and Vaudon in summer of 2023. On a very sunny day, Pierre Vaudon welcomed us to the estate for an intense tasting session. Our visit started directly in the vineyards, where we saw first hand the growing problems with mildew. Luckily, it is manageable for now, but it is getting more concerning every year in many wine regions in Europe.
After a quick tour of the stills, fermentation tanks and of course the aging warehouse, we dove directly in to taste samples prepared by Pierre. And what an epic tasting it was! After some spirited discussions about our favorites, Pierre would excuse himself with a big smile several times, to get even more samples - "Just a moment, I have one more for you to taste, be right back...!". Let's say we had a lot of fun! Moment's like this make us appreciate the hospitality of Cognac (and Armagnac) producers even more and totally make up for the regular 13 hour car drives from Stuttgart to France!
Cognac Voyer and Vaudon are both produced by the team around Pierre Vaudon. The major distinction is the cru of Cognac, in which the vineyards are located. Voyer's grapes are in Grande Champagne, Vaudon's in Fins Bois. Pierre has been working as the master blender of Voyer since a long time, before he took over the company in 2018. Vaudon is of course his family estate. Even after this marriage of houses, the distinction of cru remains the same and both brands stay true to their history!
The vineyards are 70 hectares in total, split between GC and FB. For Voyer that means chalky, limestone-rich soils, which are typical of Grande Champagne and are ideal for producing elegant, long-aging Cognac.
As with most Cognac, most of the grapes are Ugni Blanc, accompanied by a bit of F***e Blanche. Unfortunately the weather of the recent years did not make it possible to actually produce Cognac with the F***e Blanche grapes. Harvest is done usually in September and is carried out by machine to have the best timing and efficiency for the picking of the grapes. Picking by hand is of course better in theory (because you can sort out bad grapes and pick only the best of the best), but would take too much time or require too many people in parallel on very short notice to pick all grapes with the necessary speed.
The Cognac of Voyer and Vaudon are mostly naturally fermented with indigenous yeasts (quite rare!). After the pressing via a pneumatic press, the must is decanted for 20 minutes to preserve the natural yeasts and aromas. In addition, the must is stored in temperature controlled steel tanks, to improve conditions for the fermentation, which takes around 5 to 7 days. After all, good brandy is only as good as the wine which is used for distilling! In some years, yeast has to be added to support he fermentation, but not so in 1985 - 100% natural yeast for our Lot 85!
Distillation takes 8 to 14 weeks for both houses combined and varies each year due to the quality and quantity of the harvest. Of course, traditional, gas powered Charentais stills are used for this. One of them is over 50 years old and is used for the 2nd distillation, which results in a new make spirit of 68-72%.
The aging starts in fresh oak casks for a few months, before the Cognac is moved to older casks to better control the aging process. The casks are all made by local coopers who share a strong bond since 2 generations. They use mostly wood from Limousin and Berรงรฉ forests.
All casks are regularly tasted every 6 to 12 months to monitor the aging and to move casks to another warehouse if necessary to benefit from different humidity conditions (dry vs humid cellars). All casks are usually aged as single cask for most of the time and only married before bottling, if it is necessary for harmonization.
Usually Pierre does not commercialize single vintages/lots. Only exceptions in the last years were the amazing 1993 brut de fut and of course the great, but rare selections from other independent bottlers like Through the Grapevine and Legacy Brandy (special shout-out to that wonderful Lot 78/80!).
No additives are used in the lot 85, but Pierre uses a bit of sugar from time to time on younger Cognac to make them more approachable: "On young Cognacs, adding (meticulously) some softness, just to make the Cognac more comfortable is not a shame. Itโs all about a question of balance!".
Thank you Pierre, Morgan and Romain for this special cask and to make this collaboration possible. It was a pleasure!
Thanks to Sebastian Renner and Jens Fischer from Cognac Auction to do this selection with us! Looking forward to surprise some Maltheads together in Limburg at the The Whisky Fair!
Cognac Franรงois Voyer - official
