The official quality grades and storage specifications of Cognac. What is VS, VSOP and XO? And what is blending?

VS Cognac: Very Special

or ✯✯✯ (three stars) where the youngest brandy is aged at least two years in oak casks.

VSOP Cognac: Very Special

(less commonly, but officially according to the BNIC, ‘Superior’) Old Pale, where the youngest brandy is aged for at least four years in barrels, but the average wood age is much older.

The origin of the world goes back to an order from the British Royal House in 1817. The Royal House was interested in a “cognac pale”, a Cognac which is not sweetened or coloured by adding sugar or caramel. At that time it was quite common to take advantage of using additives. In the beginning of the Cognac culture, it was either cognac or cognac eau de vie.

XO Cognac: Extra Old

where the youngest eaux-de-vie is aged for at least 6, but average upwards of 20 years. From april 10th 2016 on the minimum age for XO Cognacs will be set to 10 years. The expression XO was used for the first time in 1870.

VS, VSOP and XO timeline of ageing

But there are other expressions, let’s have a look at the following cognac grades:

• Cognac Napoleon Officially Napoleon is equal to XO in terms of minimum age but normally marketed as an in-between of a VSOP and XO Cognac.
• Extra At least 6 years aged in barrels, this grade is usually older than a Napoleon or an XO.
• Vieux represents a grade between the official grades of VSOP and XO.
• Vieille Réserve is more or less like Hors d’Age a grade beyond XO.
• Hors d’âge The BNIC states it as being equal to XO, but it is actually used to communicate a very high quality product, which is beyond the official age scale. Hors d’age means: beyond age.

These specifications are overseen by the French agricultural ministry.

Lot’s of words and expressionas actually come from the United Kingdom. This is because of the close Cognac relations between the two markets. However, those expressions and regulations are not as easy as it seems.

Eaux-de-vie with different ages

There are producers which offer relatively old VS Cognacs, while others are more interested in having the cheapest VS. There are VS Cognacs which could be marketed as XO – 6 years is not a lot for a Cognac. Some Cognac houses do not use the expressions of VS, VSOP and XO at all but Napoléon or Hors d’Age. So this can be quite complicated.

Generally speaking, a VS is between 2 and 5 years, VSOP between 5 and 10 years, Napoléon between VSOP and XO 8 and 20 years and XO can be everything.

The blending of different cognac ages

Large producers can blend some drops of a very, very old and round Cognac with a middle age cognac, and then fill the bottle with rather ‘young’ Cognac and market the bottle as an XO. Of course the bigger houses have the advantage of great cellars and better infrastructure.

There are great advantages to the Cognac maker using this method

1. Money:  Using young cognac makes the production less cost driven
2. With a wide age range of different eaux-de-vie, the master blender can reproduce the required flavor profile again and again.

Of course the quality is that of a mass-produced Cognac:  The flavor profile can be slightly flat and the finish is often short, spicy or unpleasant – sometimes like cheap brandy.

But the single vineyard Cognacs (single estate Cognacs) are different in their approach:  A master blender from would use  23 to 27 year old Cognacs for blending a XO.  And you can tell.
The right flavor profile is difficult to reproduce with this technique but the result is worth it: Rich and complex aroma, usually with a long and pleasant finish.

It is more or less impossible for a mass producer to create a truly great Cognac – because it would be too expensive, and also the quantities are limited.