Delamain Cognac

Cognac, France

Delamain is one of the oldest and continuously family-run houses in Cognac; established in 1824 but with its roots in the Cognac soil dating to shortly after the arrival of Irishman James Delamain in 1759. Nine generations later, James’ direct descendant, Charles Braastad, is at the helm of Delamain Cognac. Based in Jarnac, Delamain has been part-owned by the Bollinger family since 2017.

In a nutshell: The House is situated in the heart of Grande Champagne, considered Cognac’s finest terroir, and exclusively produces XO and above Cognacs. Delamain is universally recognised as the leading specialist in blending fine Cognacs, using only eau-de-vie from Grande Champagne, aged in seasoned oak casks for a minimum of two decades, and released in very limited quantities.

In 1920, Jacques and Robert Delamain created Pale & Dry. This elegant and delicate Cognac embodies Delamain’s approach to Cognac. Re-interpreted on its centenary, Pale & Dry remains faithful to its sensory heritage. It has been naturally blended and reduced to 42% abv to reach the purest expression of its noble terroir. Pléiade by Delamain is a rare collection of extremely old and unique Cognacs that have been personally hand-selected by Cellar Master, Dominique Touteau. Created for true Cognac lovers, the Pléiade is composed of three collections, originating from a single harvest or single vineyard and single cask and defined by age: Collection Élégance, Collection Plénitude and Collection Apogée.

The terroir: Soils in the Grande Champagne Appellation are characterised by good drainage and high degree of chalkiness caused by the accumulation of small marine fossils that produces particularly fine Cognac. Since January 2019, Delamain has been directly cultivating vines in the vineyard of ‘La Rambaudie’ in Grande Champagne, one of very few Cognac Houses to do so, guaranteeing the House access to some of the finest Grande Champagne eau-de-vie.

The Delamain ‘personality’: Delamain’s ethos is to obtain cognac’s purest expression through the optimal contributions of nature, time and man, which has earned the House of Delamain the proud title of ‘Guardians of time-honoured Cognac’

Delamain Pale & Dry XO Centenaire