If you bought a bottle of cognac with the XO mark on the label, consider yourself in luck. After all, this is how an exclusively seasoned, old noble drink is marked.
Extra Old
The age of cognac can be found out by a special letter designation on the label. The time frames indicated in the special classification mean that the cognac spirits were aged in special oak barrels during this period. According to the law, the minimum age for cognac that can be sold at retail is two years.
The XO label stands for Extra Old, which means "very old" or "extra-old". The composition of cognacs with this marking includes alcohols that have been aged in oak barrels for at least six years. In some cases (it depends on the specific manufacturer), the aging of cognac spirits could take much longer.
Sometimes, instead of marking XO on the label of a drink that has been aged for six years or more, Napoleon may be written. This also depends on the manufacturer, but in fact there is no difference between the XO and Napoleon inscriptions. You need to understand that the Napoleon labeling indicates exactly a long aging, and not a kind of drink.
Officially, cognacs that have been aged for more than six years do not have a classification, since it is believed that the blending processes at such periods cannot be controlled.
How is the taste of cognac formed?
In the first years of aging alcohol in oak barrels, its properties change, since there is an active extraction of tannins, resins, oils and volatile acids from oak wood. Cognac spirits acquire a characteristic golden color and are saturated with vanilla and woody aromas. In subsequent years, cognac spirit darkens, softens significantly and acquires additional flavors. The humidity of the cognac cellar influences the formation of the future cognac. In cellars with low humidity, cognac becomes more structured and drier, in wet cellars it softens even more. In the course of long exposure, a significant part of the alcohol evaporates through the porous surface of the wood. Such "losses" are an excellent breeding ground for special microscopic fungi that cover cognac cellars with a dense layer. These mushrooms give walls and ceilings their characteristic dark color.
Cognac is usually obtained by mixing cognac alcohols of different aging. In such cases, the final exposure of cognac is considered according to the minimum aging period of its constituents. Thanks to the mixing of cognac spirits in the mass production of cognacs, the same properties of drinks are maintained, regardless of the taste of the grapes from the harvest of a particular year.
