Hotel Buys World’s Oldest Cognac
The Library Bar at The Lanesborough Hotel, London, has recently acquired the oldest known bottle of cognac in the world. Distilled in 1770, this single cask cognac is an important appendage to the bar’s Liquid History collection and dates back to:
- The birth year of Ludwig Van Beethoven and William Wordsworth
- The year that 14 year old Marie Antoinette married Louis XVI
- The year Captain James Cook became the first European to discover the East coast of Australia
The cognac is presented in a bottle calculated at about 1 litre which features a deep bell in the base. This characteristic shape indicates the heritage of the glass, dating it back to around the turn of the 18th century. In contrast, the cork has been changed over the years ensuring quality and consistency. The 1770 Cognac is priced at £4000.00 per 50ml shot.
Originating from the region around Aigre, the cognac is believed to be from the Domaine de la Bonneville, a family run vineyard which spanned 350 hectares. The estate enjoyed a reputation for producing some of the finest cognacs in the world and supplied to a range of leading négociants including Hennessey, Saul and Augier. It is believed that one of the old négociants purchased the cognac where it was kept in large imperial bottles after cask ageing. The colour of the Cognac indicates that it has aged for around 60 years. As with other examples from the Massougnes estate, it is expected that the cognac will have a dry and musty, hazelnut flavour, with hints of tobacco and a dominant, oaky taste consistent with cognacs made with the Bassac and Folle grapes that were used during that period.
In the Cognac distilleries some of the oldest Cognacs are locked away behind bars deep in the Caves along the banks of the river. They are very expensive and my guess (and it will always remain that way) very smooth!