This Cognac, my friends, is simply stunning.
Subtle Spirits, Ancêtres
This is the oldest single-cask of Dudognon to come out of the domaine.
Ancêtres is a multi-vintage (1990-1994) single-cask barrel of cognac bottled at a cask strength of 49.5% abv. It was bottled in France - as legally required - in November 2024 and labeled 30 years old, the age of the youngest vintage in the cask. It yielded 250 bottles. While only a few single-casks have come from Dudognon to the US, virtually none were at cask strength, and this is the oldest single-cask of Dudognon to come out of the domaine. The labels were hand-applied, and a custom Pantone color wax dipping was added after arriving in the US.
The name Ancêtres means ancestors in French. A nod to the name of the first Cognac that brought notoriety to the Dudognon family by way of their entrance into the 1898 International Spirits Show, the name is also an homage to the vines on the Dudognon property that have been under family care for generations.
This Cognac, my friends, is simply stunning. Without a doubt, it is one of the top two Subtle Spirits releases we have ever put out. And that's just cause I can’t choose a favorite. If you don’t like this, there is something wrong with you. Don’t expect an over-oaked tannin bomb like most ultra-aged bourbons. It’s not hiding behind a blast of heavily charred new oak or high-proof hazmat alcohol levels. Comparing this to an ultra-aged bourbon or rye is like comparing a Rolls Royce to a Black Label Saleen Mustang. The Saleen Mustang is an amazing car with more horsepower and quicker off the line. But it's one-third the price of a Rolls Royce for a reason. It isn’t as refined, it isn’t as luxurious, and it isn’t the preferred choice of kings and queens.
It began about 15 years ago when a man named Charles Neal entered the little bottle shop where I worked part-time circa 2010.
In walks this tall dude, wearing what I remember to be a Nirvana or a Meat Puppets t-shirt, a blazer, and tight, rockstar-like jeans with cowboy boots. He made an impression, to say the least. My manager, Drew, got up from his desk to greet him with a handshake, and they immediately appeared to have an affinity and mutual respect. This struck me as interesting because Drew was a brilliant (albeit severely troubled) man who was usually too bristly to notice how off-putting his matter-of-fact comments were and how frequent outbursts of anger or impatience gave him the reputation of being cantankerous.
Drew did have a savant-like memory for tasting, though, wines in particular. Salespeople would line up like clockwork every Thursday before we opened. With their wine roller bags in tow, they would cue up down the street, waiting their turn to pour for us. There was always an air of uncertainty because they never knew if they would be on the receiving end of a five-minute rant on how the wine they poured displayed an overly judicious amount of new oak or that Napa Cabernet was overrated and overpriced. If they were lucky, he would say nothing, nod, then something simple like, "That's nice.” If they weren’t, the former would happen.
But this wasn’t a Thursday, and as Charles walked in with a roller bag, I prepared myself for the typical curt greeting of “We only see salespeople on Thursdays! It's a cattle call, and we don’t make appointments.” But that didn’t happen, and as Drew and Charles began talking, it was clear that Charles was someone important. It turns out he had just gotten back from France, a place he travels to regularly, representing a collection of small, family-owned producers from obscure wine-growing regions like Savoie, Juronçon, Jura, Bugey, and Marcillac, to name a few. Among the array of varietals he brings into the US from France’s lesser-known grape-growing regions, he is also a purveyor of some of the finest brandies in the world. Calvados (brandy made from apples and, in some cases, with the addition of some pear), Armagnac, and Cognac.
Charles Neal is a purveyor of some of the finest brandies in the world.
Most wine drinkers from the Bay Area would know the name Kermit Lynch, the author and founder of the eponymous Kermit Lynch Imports wine portfolio. Kermit famously wrote a book in 1972 called “Adventures on the Wine Route” that brought him notoriety and paved the way for fine French wines to be imported into the US, with a focus on small, family-owned grower-produced wines that show the proper terroir and authenticity of that region. Kermit paved the way for people like Charles, and in turn, Charles paved the way for people like me.
Ironically, Charles shares a similar lineage to mine, getting his start in the wine and spirits industry by working at a small bottle shop. First in New York, then in San Francisco, at a place called D&M Liquors, known for its selection of Champagne, Cognac, and Armagnac. After falling enamored with the spirits of France, he got the gumption to begin importing them into the US. He has never relied on marketing or advertising to promote the brands he imports. He cemented a well-developed market in New York, the East Coast, and the Bay Area. Thad Vogler, creator of the James Beard award-winning Bar Agricole, is known for curating almost exclusively all Charles Neal Spirits Selections at his bars and restaurants. In Vogler’s book, ‘By the Smoke and the Smell’ (2017), Thad waxes poetically and frequently about Charles Neal and his multiple excursions traveling with Charles around the world in search of authentic spirits. It’s a good read. I highly recommend it.
Charles Neal is also an author. In addition to the books he’s written about the eighties underground music scene and a couple of noir fiction novels, he also wrote one of the most formidable books on Armagnac and Calvados and is currently finishing a book on Cognac.
It's worth noting a few of the important key points about brandy.
Brandy is a distilled liquor made from fermented fruit or wine. Brandy comes from the Dutch word ‘brandewijn’, Dutch for ‘burnt wine’. It was first distilled in France in the early 1300s and primarily used for medicinal purposes during the Middle Ages. The Dutch later discovered that they could save room on their long-haul transatlantic ship endeavors if they boiled down barrels of French wine to lighten the load and produce an increasingly interesting drink in the process. Something the French knew all along, of course. Because of this broad definition, brandy can imply a lot of different types of spirit, some of which, the French ones in particular, are governed by the region they come from: Cognac, Armagnac, and Calvados in particular.
Brandy varieties vary based on their regional distinctions across the globe. Calvados is an apple brandy distilled from native apple varietals and produced in the French region of Normandy. American brandy distilled from apples is commonly referred to as Applejack. Eau-de-vie, meaning "water of life" in French, is a clear, unaged fruit spirit appreciated for its pure expression of the base fruit. Italy makes Grappa, which is distinctively produced from pomace—the leftover grape skins, stems, and seeds from winemaking. Ouzo is from Greece and is distinguished by its characteristic anise flavor profile. And from Germany, Kirschwasser, a brandy infused with cherries, translates to "cherry water."
Cognac comes from the Charentais region and is distilled in an alembic pot still, colloquially referred to as a Charentais still.
The Armagnac and Cognac regions grow three similar grape varieties – Folle Blanch, Ugni-Blanc, and Colombard. Small amounts of Baco in Armagnac and Montils in Cognac are also grown. There is a big difference in the regional distillation processes. Armagnac, which is produced in the Gascony region, is traditionally consumed mostly within France and distilled on a columnar still. Cognac, which comes from the Charentais region, has traditionally been exported out of France and is distilled in an alembic pot still, which is colloquially referred to as a Charentais still. A similarity it shares with single malt Scotch is the use of pot stills and double distillation, which produces a rich and expressive spirit. Because it is not distilled continuously or as high a proof as Armagnac - or bourbon, for that matter – you get a more oily and viscous spirit in the hearts cut, providing a concentrated and robust flavor even before hitting a barrel for aging. Aging takes place in the cellar, which is referred to as the Chais, usually a stone-walled, dark, dank environment where barrels lay on the ground, some stacked 3-4 high on top of each other.
Brandy became the preferred drink of European aristocrats and nobility in the 17th century, with the most famous brandies hailing from the Cognac region of France. Brandy is very closely associated with the rise in global spirits demand, and eventually whiskey, as the rise of the British Navy brought new demand to London and beyond. In the 1800s, the demand for European fine wines and brandies was peaking. Around 1850, a group of botanists in Victorian England brought back American grape vines for cultivation in Europe and, unknowingly, were accompanied by an aphid-like insect called Phylloxera. The North American native vines, like Vitas labrusca had evolved resistance to these root-destroying insects, but their European cousins had not, changing the grape-growing industry forever. By 1889, total wine growing production in France alone had tanked down to roughly 23 million hectoliters, down from 84 million just over a decade earlier. This massive destruction of vines decimated the Cognac export industry and paved the way for the world's next exclusive spirit of choice, single malt Scotch.
As the World Wars ravaged Northern Europe twice during the 20th century, many small family grape growers faced demolition and destruction, sometimes multiple times. Forced to recoup the fruits of their labor, many small family-owned operations sold all their grapes to the larger blending houses because they didn’t have the means to produce, market, and sell wines and spirits themselves. This gave way to the big names in the Champagne and Cognac industry that most consumers are exclusively familiar with today: Veuve Cliquot, Louis Roederer in Champagne, or Rémy Martin, Courvoisier, and Richard Hennessy in Cognac.
As those big houses became larger, they absorbed other smaller operations and expanded their export reach and brand offerings. The modern market was causing extra demand for these brands in countries outside Europe and the US, like Asia, especially China. However, one problem with brandy that doesn’t exist in whiskey production is the dependence on Mother Nature to ripen the grapes sufficiently every given year. So, to provide consistency in flavor profile, larger blending houses began adding caramel coloring and adjunct sweeteners to polish off the younger or less quality brandies used in the blend.
Despite popular belief, high-quality Cognac should not have a sweet profile.
Many producers claim their Cognacs contain no permitted additives, but most are lying. And if you taste enough of them, you can tell. Even the top-of-the-line marks from houses like Louis XIII or Richard Hennessy are permitted and still contain brandies with additives and adjunct sweeteners. No thanks.
Charles Neal was one of the first to bring grower-produced (meaning the same person who grew the grapes, distilled, and bottled them) brandies into the US so that the American market had access to these authentic and pure spirits. Spirits that haven’t changed for hundreds of years. No inclusion of additives or sweeteners, with variation from vintage to vintage, that showcase the talent of the distiller and cellarmaster.
I later became the general manager of the wine & spirits stores and then the beverage director for the hospitality group I worked for for eleven years. I got to know Charles and his portfolio better and found that the shining part of his portfolio was his exceptional selection of Armagnac, Cognac, and Calvados. I still remember my first time tasting these brandies – it was an entirely different experience from those I’d tasted in my past. I had had plenty of Hennessy, Courvoisier, or E&J Brandy in my day, growing up in Wisconsin – where brandy is the reigning king of spirits consumed – usually with the addition of coke, or in a ‘Brandy Old Fashioned, Sweet ’ as it is commonly ordered (looking at you Mom!). I had always thought of brandy and Cognac as a sweeter spirit. Turns out I hadn’t met the right Cognac yet.
It’s hard to choose, but I have to say that my favorite is, without a doubt, the Cognac from Maison Dudognon. They are alive and expressive, unabashed in their presence, and confidently display an ethereal marriage of grape flavors with a concentration of fine oak. I also remember my Italian colleague comically referring to the cognac in a Big Lebowski-like tone as The Dude. Turns out this is how many of their US fans refer to them.
With a family heritage dating back to 1776, Maison Dudognon is located in the village of Lignières-Sonneville, in the heart of the Grande Champagne region of Cognac, where the most prestigious grapes are grown. They won a Medaille d’Or (gold medal) at the International Spirits Show in Paris in 1898. This generational knowledge of viticulture and distillation was passed on from Paulin Dudognon to his son Gaston and his grandson Raymond. Raymond’s first vintage off the small, wood-fired still was in 1946, and soon after, he replaced other crops with more vineyards, eventually growing to 35 hectares in 1960. Most of the brandy they produced was sold to the larger houses, with small amounts being held back en fût (in cask) for family reserves. Later, in 1990, Raymond blended his first two vintages (1946 & 1947), which he titled Reserve des Ancêtres. Like his grandfather, he took home a Medaille d’Or at the International Spirits Tasting Show. Raymond was adored and respected amongst his peers in the Cognac community, embodying a spirit and persona that stood in stark contrast to the typical polished image of Cognac.
Raymond died of cancer in 2002, and as French law dictates, his estate was split equally amongst the surviving siblings, so the property was passed on to his three daughters. One sold off their parcel, the other incorporated into their spouse's neighboring production, and the third, Claudine, took over the vines surrounding the chai (cellar) on the property in La Davore, along with the distillery and what was left of the stock. Her husband Gerald later sold his trucking business and officially joined the team.
Maison Dudognon has a family heritage dating back to 1776.
Today, they have just 10 hectares of vines planted, 88% of which are ugni-blanc, 9% foile blanche, and 3% montils. The still holds 14 hectoliters, or 369 US gallons. It is heated directly from a charcoal and wood fire. To rebalance their supply with demand and production, Claudine stopped selling her young distillates to the blending houses. They air-season their French oak staves for a minimum of 36 months on their property, which ensures that the younger bitter tannins break down and seep out of the oak - before sending them to the local cooper to make them into a 350-liter barrel (nearly twice the size of an American oak bourbon barrel). This is about as rustic as it gets; no computers. Sometimes, a mattress is on the floor next to the still in the winter months, and all the cuts are made by hand, based on the distiller's intuition, taste, and smell. Today, collectors and investors worldwide seek Dudognon Cognacs, especially the older ones.
Today, collectors and investors worldwide seek Dudognon Cognacs, especially the older ones.
I stayed in contact with Charles after I started Subtle Spirits. We began discussing finding something special for Subtle Spirits about two years ago. Due to Covid, the distance and time of travel, and the fact that Charles seemed to plan his France trips only weeks in advance, I regrettably had to turn down three invites to parlay across the French countryside with him to visit his Armagnac, Calvados, and Cognac producers. Each time he came back, he always returned with an array of samples for me to dig into. Of all the cask samples I tried, there was one I kept coming back to. A cask of Dudognon Cognac blended with multiple vintages from 1990 through 1994.
As I mentioned, Cognac is twice distilled in a Charentais pot-still, typically to around 70% alcohol by volume, before being filled into the cask. At a place like Dudognon, they typically put new brandy into a new French oak barrel for a few years to obtain greater oak characteristics before vatting into used (neutral) French oak to age longer. This is so the oak doesn’t overwhelm the spirit. As it ages in the chais, it evaporates and loses some of its contents. These casks are typically topped off with other casks, so there is less air and more spirit-to-wood contact. The result is sometimes a multi-vintage blend in a single cask. As the aging continues, the proof of the alcohol gradually drops (because, remember, this is not Kentucky.) Cellarmasters will also gradually add small amounts of water to the casks, slowly bringing down the proof over the years before the final bottling, usually at 40% abv. I had specifically asked Charles if he could bring me samples of casks that had not been cut down to the bottling proof of 40%. While this was a very uncommon request in Cognac, one met with a bit of apprehension from Dudognon; they honored the request.
Lisa Kairos in her studio with the final Ancêtres painting
With the barrel secured, my intent for the artwork was to find a landscape artist who could paint a picture of cognac vineyards or the countryside. I hadn’t given it too much thought when I was picking up ‘The Hive’ artwork from Daryll Peirce at his studio in San Francisco. As I was leaving the building, I walked down the hall and noticed pieces on the wall that had a very abstract cartographic feel, with bursts of color and lines. The artist was Lisa Kairos, and I knew immediately what I wanted the piece to look like.
Lisa Kairos layers ink and paint to mimic the geological formations revealed by satellite maps, and colors drawn from where the earth, water, and sky converge.
I pitched Lisa the idea of an abstract map of the region of Cognac, with the region of Grand Champagne in the center of it. She saw the vision immediately, and we got to work on some color studies. We selected our favorite from three different color schemes, and she began working on the lines and final elements. The piece is on watercolor paper, where Lisa uses water to bleed and run the colors into an improvisational shape and expression. The lines and hash details are painted on top with acrylic. The final piece is mounted onto a wood panel and measures 24”x 24”.
Tasting Notes:
This spirit is gentle at first glance, with impressions of Manuka honey, pipe tobacco, gingerbread cookies, marzipan, roasted almonds, and sandalwood. Depending on the glass you use, I prefer a Burgundy glass; it opens up, and more bright grape aromas emerge. The palate is rich and viscous, enhanced by the higher bottling proof, and it has strong backbone and structure but remains vivacious and brimming with refreshing acidity. Flavors of dried golden raisins, ginger, cigar leaf, honey, and exotic spices. As it opens up, it constantly changes, bouncing between bright fruit and savory potpourri spices.
Aromas: Subtle impressions of Manuka honey, pipe tobacco, gingerbread cookies, marzipan, roasted almonds, and sandalwood. Depending on the glass, and as it opens up, more bright grape aromas emerge.
Palate: Rich and viscous, enhanced by the higher bottling proof. Notes of dried golden raisins, ginger, cigar leaf, honey, and exotic spices.
Photography by Victor Sizemore