THE REGIONS WHERE COGNAC AND ARMAGNAC ARE PRODUCED
These correspond approximately to the geographic territory of Charente and Charente Maritime. It is divided into several areas. “Grande Champagne” lies entirely within the Cognac region, and produces a brandy with a very pronounced bouquet, which only gets stronger as time goes on. “Petite Champagne”, represented by a band to the south of “Grande Champagne”, forming a kind of crescent, and “Borderies” groups a small number of communities on the north bank of the Charente river, to the north-west of Cognac.
“Fins bois” or “Premiers bois” form a continuous band around the regions already mentioned, with a little island on the banks of the Gironde. Then come the regions whose products are of a more ordinary quality: “Bons bois”, “Bois ordinaires” “Bois au terroir” “Grande” and “Petite Champagne” only produce “Fine Champagne”.
« Grande » et « Petite Champagne » donnent seules la « fine Champagne »
ARMAGNAC, PRODUCED IN THREE “TERROIRS”
To the west is Bas-Armagnac, where the best brandies, delicate and fruity, are produced. In the centre, Armagnac-Ténarèze produces livelier, more full-bodied brandies, which express all their richness after prolonged ageing. To the east, is Haut-Armagnac, where the cultivation of vines was developed in the 19th century in a period of high demand, which today represents a very small part of the production.
These three terroirs make up a total of 15,000 hectares in three “départements”: Le Gers, Les Landes and Lot-et-Garonne.”
