A NEW BRANDY FOR CALIFORNIA: FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA BRANDY

After Gallo, the Coppola family is also getting into the brandy category.
What is going on!!!

"Maria Gaetana Agnesi 1799 Brandy from Francis Ford Coppola sourced by Family Coppola.
The grape based brandies for Agnesi 1799 are sought, sourced, and blended by The Family Coppola and our winery’s master blender from barrel stocks in California’s finest brandy distilleries.

Our initial brandy release is a blend of 2012 Dolcetto grapes from Russian River Valley and 2009 French Colombard grapes from the Central Valley. Agnesi 1799 is a true taste of California soil, ambient yeast, naturally filtered water, and warm climate of the Golden State. Through careful selection of barrels and delicate blending of water and spirit, our brandy assumes the best qualities of the artisanally-crafted individual spirits.

By sourcing brandy made in different types of stills, both Old World Alembic Charentais stills and modern column stills, and from various local grapes, we are able to craft a proprietary blend that we believe is greater than the sum of its parts." (from Coppola Website)

Small batch 5 years old Brandy!

TASTING NOTES

Nose

Layered cinnamon in front, small amount of tobacco. Hints of vanilla and almonds give it a well-rounded profile of oak characters.

Taste

Overall high complexity. Baking spices on entry. Small hints of clove. Toasted bread in mid pallet. Pleasant mouth coating, some sweetness in the mid-palate, and a silky smooth finish. Very clean overall, with some honey.


"Agnesi 1799 is as fine as any Old World sipping brandy, yet comes with no pretense that it’s above being mixed into your favorite cocktails" says Coppola.

Source & Photo: Francis Ford Coppola Brandy

CAN ANCIENT INGREDIENTS MAKE BETTER SPIRITS TODAY?

Heritage Corn Craft Whiskey’s Final Frontier?
Having tapped the bounty of heirloom grains, distillers are turning to the unexplored diversity of heritage corn to add nuance to their whiskeys.
JUNE 6, 2018 story: KARA NEWMAN

Once upon a time, nobody cared for whiskey being made with Rye, Corn or Wheat...
Now people are into details. What kind of corn?
Just a little over a century ago, hundreds of varieties of corn grew across the fields of the United States.

Today, almost all corn-based whiskey, including bourbon, is sourced from a single type of corn. But some craft distillers are trying to revive those ancient strains, creating spirits with greater nuance by stretching back to the past.

This sort of obsessiveness has become a feature of the craft whiskey movement. But even as producers increase their focus on the sourcing of grainslike ancient strains of rye, and even how they’re malted, corn remains the last frontier.
See, article Souce below for more details ...

That reminds me, that in 2015 I revived the concept of 1870 cognac by producing a cognac 'à la pre-phylloxera way' that is using single grape 'Folle Blanche', single cask, vintage and why not from Bons Bois with a higher proof which is looked down for no real reasons besides commercial reasons. I did not do high proof or cask strength because one as to go with baby steps. All of this was too much at once and it was wise to get a few great and 'good old' concepts first and later we will see!

Meet Comandon Cognac 2012 Single Cask Folle Blanche from Bons Bois 41.3% Alc/Vol.
Only 120 bottles were released in the USA and we sold them all to aficionados who were paying attention.

Source: PUNCH, Comandon

2017 COGNAC HARVEST IS PLANNED ON 10TH OF SEPTEMBER SAYS BNIC

Cognac landscape photo

Harvest was initially expected on 15th Sept. but it has been moved earlier to the 10th September according to Bureau National Inteprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC). Average date for harvest is historically approx. 23rd Sept.

The BNIC expects that the 2017 will be the smallest harvest since 1945 due to various weather conditions and in particular the late frost in May.
In late August 2017, the average acidity was 11.1 g/L H2SO4 for a  pH of 2.8 and with a potential alcohol % of 7.4%.

The area of the Cognac AOC not damaged by frost can expect 110 to 120 hecto liter per hectar of wine, whereas the frozen vineyard areas will only make 40 to 50 hl/ha, which will make a potential harvest on average for 2017 of 80-90 hl/ha.

Normally, the average is over 100 hl/ha, with an average for the past 10 years being of 107 hl/ha.
This is caused by the lower number of grapes per bunch with 37.5 grapes per bunch compared to the average of 53.5 grapes for the past 10 years.

Surprisingly, the grapes bunch weighted about 420g which is well above the 10 years average of 357g.
The BNIC recommends harvesting grapes with a rate of alcohol of 8.5 to 10.5% for an total acidity above 7.5 g/l H2SO4.

Source: Vitisphere