ABV: 40%

Country: France

Like most Cognac houses, Delamain does not grow grapes but instead purchases eaux-de-vie from trusted grower/distillers who offer their finest spirits for evaluation after each harvest. For its vintage bottlings, each year Delamain selects young, single-estate Cognacs to be aged for 30 years in a special cellar in Jarnac, in old 350-liter oak barrels called roux. The barrels are locked into the cellar under the strict control of the BNIC, the Cognac Trade Association, which holds one of the two keys necessary to enter the cellar. Every year from this cellar, Delamain selects small lots of Cognacs at least 30 years old, and bottles them without blending. Vintage-dated Cognac is relatively rare, as its production has only recently been allowed under French law. It is made to pinpoint for the connoisseur the vineyard terroir of a single estate and to demonstrate the unique capability of Jarnac Cognacs to mature over the long term.