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Origin of Saint Clos

The multifaceted expression of grapes and all its complex aromas are revealed in each of our cognacs

Each bottle of Saint Clos Cognac keeps our history and passion for the cause of life

It is hard to imagine this drink without our land where the vines have been growing and yielding a rich harvest for centuries, and without the love and patience we pay it for many years.

Our vineyards are located throughout all Cognac region, but the best are small and fenced areas directly adjacent to the Estate. They are called Clos.

They are the best not only because of the quality of the terroir but also due to the proximity of the vineyard to the distillery. Grapes grown on Clos avoid long transportation and go directly to the press, then to the fermentation vat, and then to the alembic.

The best Clos producing the best grapes is called Saint Clos, because one believes that angels look after him. Being under their care, we remain true to the values of previous generations of winegrowers and cellar masters. Each bottle we produce reflects the accumulated experience and passion of our predecessors, from the vine to the final drink.

Once touched the history of our cognac and having tasted it, you will never forget Saint Clos.

History of Saint Clos

Medici, prophetic dreams and wars: how it influenced the fortunes of cognac

According to the legend, at the beginning of the XVI century on the wedding day of King Henry II and Marie de' Medici Italian ambassadors presented to the just married couple a gift – grape brandy. Inhabitants of the Apennines already knew how to obtain an alcohol from wine using alembics.

It's a simple way to spy on neighbors and to implement, and after a half of a century the residents of Cognac province also started to distill wine into alcohol, water it down and sell. However, the production technology of modern cognac is associated with another legend about Chevalier Jacques de la Croix Maron.

This worthy knight between the wars was engaged in distilling alcohol process. At the nighttime, the brave warrior was unsurprisingly tormented by nightmares, and once he had a dream where the devil himself had decided to take out his soul, threatening to boil the Chevalier twice in a pot.

When de la Croix woke up, he interpreted this dream in his own way, deciding to overtake grape alcohol twice, and at the same time to cut off its "head" and "tail", the initial and final fractions to free the immortal soul of the beverage. This is how appeared the technology which is being used by all cognac producers for more than three centuries.

The tradition of aging cognac in oak appeared later. The Anglo-Frankish War started in 1701. The English fleet blocked the French ports, and ready-to-ship oak barrels with cognac were left to wait in the wings. Apparently, the beverage from these barrels became softer and better by the taste, and all producers began to age cognac in oak.

Production process of Saint Clos

Strict rules create impeccable taste

Every action related to the production of Saint Clos cognac is strictly bound by practices and turned into the rules strictly mandatory for everyone. Only permitted grape varieties are used, and the leader among them is Ugni Blanc.

Daily work on the vineyards. Saint Clos pays a special attention to vines to get healthy and well balanced grapes using sustainable growing methods to treat as carefully as possible to the environment and the vineyard. Each step is thought out for the purpose of production wines with respect for the terroir and nature.

Usually, we harvest in the middle of October, the bunches are immediately going to the press, where the berries are gently crushed so that the juice flows out of them. At the same time we never squeeze the grapes dry, since the last squeeze can have an unpleasant grassy taste.

The juice is being fermented without the added sugar to get unfiltered dry white wine with an alcohol content of 8-9%. Then we send this wine for distillation to a copper alembic. We used to use small capacity alembics, 25 hl as a maximum. It allows to distill grapes from each terroir separately.

Before distillation, the wine is always warm up. After the first distillation we obtain the so-called Brouillis, a raw alcohol containing approximately 30% alcohol. During the second distillation our master cuts off the primary fraction containing toxic impurities, collects the body with a strength of 69-72%, and as soon as the strength drops to 60%, cuts off the tail. The whole process takes about a day, while no more than 10 liters of wine produces 1 liter of «eaux-de-vie».

This «eaux-de-vie» went to barrels of Limousin oak for rest. Cognac spends there from 30 months (for VS) to several decades. Aged spirits we blend to get a complex harmonious bouquet. Blending of spirits is a separate art. Only the cellar master, the keeper of ancient craftsmanship, decides when and in what proportion to blend spirits obtained from different terroirs and having different ages to create a great cognac. In this way, following the rules established by law, using centuries-old traditions and experience of generations of masters of blending, Saint Clos cognac is born.

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Origin of Saint Clos

History of Saint Clos

Production process of Saint Clos

Strict rules create impeccable taste

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