Le Story
LE STORY
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SPARKLING WINE KISSED WITH COGNAC
This is where winemakers from Champagne cross paths with five
generations of cognac producers and make sweet (and brut) love.
The party started when Jean and Lucien Charlemegne moved from the champagne region of France to the cognac region and started Charlemagne House winery. Boundaries were crossed, things got weird, and the winery was purchased by well-known cognac producers, the Bouyer family. One night, an idea came from where many ideas do. After enjoying some Chardonnay and a few cognacs, someone asked Emanuel Bouyer, “Why not mix the two?” And so it began…
XO TECHNIQUE
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SPARKLING WINE KISSED WITH COGNAC
It took the family two years to perfect the recipe. One hundred percent
sparkling Charlemagne wine blended with XO (extra old) Cognac.
Cognac has to age at least six years to be considered XO. The cognac in Sparkling XO is aged 25 for good measure. After primary fermentation and bottling, a second alcoholic fermentation occurs in the bottle. Several grams of yeast and rock sugar are added to induce this second fermentation process. After aging, the bottle is manipulated, either manually or mechanically, in a process called remuage, so that the lees (deposits of residual yeast and other particles that precipitate) settle in the neck of the bottle. After chilling the bottles, the neck is frozen, and the cap removed. The pressure in the bottle forces out the ice containing the lees, and the bottle is quickly corked to maintain the carbon dioxide in solution. In traditional champagne making, some syrup is added to maintain the level within the bottle and adjust the sweetness of the finished wine. Instead of adding syrup like most champagne makers do, the Bouyer family added cognac, giving Sparkling XO its unique flavor.