The crus
VINEYARD
Lead the demonstration
The Appellation area covers all of the Charente-Maritime, a large part of Charente and a small number of villages in Dordogne and the Deux-Sèvres.
Rivers helped delimit the crus. You can see, for example, the natural delimitation of Grande Champagne, which is located between the Charente River and its tributary the Né.
Grande Champagne
Grande Champagne, with more than 13,200 ha under vine to produce white wines that go into Cognac, yields exceptionally fine, light eaux-de-vie with a predominantly floral bouquet, that require long ageing in oak casks to achieve full maturity. Eaux-de-vie that come exclusively from this cru may carry the Appellation Contrôlée “Cognac Grande Champagne” or “Cognac Grande Fine Champagne”.
Petite Champagne
Petite Champagne is planted with more than 15,200 ha of vines to produce white wines that go into Cognac. These Petite Champagne eaux-de-vie are very similar to those of Grande Champagne, but without their exceptional finesse.
Eaux-de-vie that come exclusively from this cru may carry the Appellation Contrôlée “Cognac Petite Champagne” or “Cognac Petite Fine Champagne”.
The word Champagne: in Old French, “Champaigne” which comes from the Latin “campania”, meaning country or open field (as opposed to wooded areas).
The Fine Champagne Appellation Fine Champagne is not a cru, but rather a blend of wine spirits that come from the complementary geographical denominations “Grande Champagne” and “Petite Champagne”, with at least 50% from “Grande Champagne”.
Borderies
This is the smallest of the six crus, with 4,000 ha of vines devoted to Cognac. The Borderies produce fine, round eaux-de-vie that are smooth and scented with an aroma of violets. They have the reputation of reaching optimum quality after a shorter maturation period than Petite and Grande Champagne eaux-devie. Eaux-de-vie that come exclusively from this cru may carry the Appellation Contrôlée “Cognac Borderies”.
Fins Bois
The Fins Bois surround the three previous crus and are planted with 31,200 ha of vines for Cognac. They produce round, supple eaux-de-vie that age fairly quickly, with an aroma reminiscent of freshly pressed grapes.
Eaux-de-vie that come exclusively from this cru may carry the Appellation Contrôlée “Cognac Fins Bois”.
Bons bois
The Bons Bois represent 9,300 ha of vines for Cognac white wines. The Bons Bois produce eaux-de-vie that age quickly.
Eaux-de-vie that come exclusively from this cru may carry the Appellation Contrôlée “Cognac Bons Bois”.
Bois ordinaires
This cru presents less than 1,100 ha (2,718) of vines for producing Cognac white wines. The eaux-de-vie it yields have similar characteristics to those of the Bons Bois, with more rustic terroir character.