The Ultimate Guide to the 6 Crus of Cognac

Cognac, the most famous brandy in the world, is named after the small French commune from which it hails. The town of Cognac has less than 20,000 people, an impressively small number considering that over 170 million bottles of Cognac are sold annually. 

But when it comes to French wine and spirits, nothing is simple.

The area in which the famed brandy is produced is in the commune’s surrounding grape-growing region, the Charente department of southwestern France. It stretches from the Charente-Maritime to smaller parts of Deux-Sèvres and the Dordogne. 

The six vineyard growth areas where Cognac is produced are what the French call “cru,” which means something a bit different for the French brandy than it does for wine. In Cognac’s case, a cru refers to both a region and anything grown in it. Grape-wise, Cognac primarily grows Ugni Blanc, which makes up about 98% of the grapes in the region (Colombard, Sémillon, and a few others can also be used).

The breakdown of the different territories started in the mid-19th century when geologist Henri Coquand studied the region’s terroir and classified the soils according to the type of eau-de-vie (young, unaged brandy) they produced. This led to the decree of January 13th, 1938 which defined the various appellations.

The six regions of Cognac

The six crus that can make Cognac are: Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Borderies, Fins Bois, Bons Bois, and Bois Ordinaires. Only grapes grown in these regions of France can be used to create Cognac, and each region features unique soils and landscapes.

The town of Cognac sits near the middle of these crus, with each cru wrapping out like rings further and further from the center. It’s a bit like a dartboard, with Grande Champagne acting as the bullseye.

The best way to taste the differences between the regions is to do an in-person sampling. 

“We have an experiment where we have one rank Borderies, Foie Bois, Grande Champagne, and I take samples from those barrels,” says Cognac Park master blender Jérôme Tessendier. “We taste and then it is easy to understand.” 

From flavor to texture to depth, each Cognac cru offers something different. Most of the top Cognac brands blend eau-de-vie from different regions to create their brandies, but some release expressions made only of grapes from a single region. Here’s how they break down.

Grande Champagne

With its hilly terrain and valuable limestone soil, Grande Champagne yields a style of eau-de-vie that has become desirable over the years and is considered one of the most suitable for aging. 

Cognac made in this area is known for its finesse, length, and flexibility. 

“Grand Champagne, it comes soft and light and grows step by step in the middle and at the end,” says Tessendier. “It comes in soft, then growing, growing, growing, growing, growing, and stays, stays, stays, stays, stays and then disappears.” 

Grand Champagne is the second smallest of the Cognac regions. It features its namesake town and is home to many of the world’s most iconic brands, such as Hennessy, Frapin, and Hine.

Petite Champagne

Known for its floral and fruity brandies, Petite Champagne also features mostly limestone soil but is less hilly and there’s more influence from the oceanic climate than in Grande Champagne. 

This area’s eau-de-vie tends towards light and flexible. “Petite Champagne goes soft, grows and stays more and disappears more slowly,” says Tessendier.

Petite Champagne is the third largest of the Cognac crus. When combined with brandy from Grande Champagne, the resulting blend is known as Fine Champagne. Brands like Remy Martin only use grapes from the Petite and Grande Champagne crus.

Borderies

The smallest of Cognac’s regions, Borderies is unique when compared to the areas that surround it. It’s less than half the size of Grande Champagne and contains the region’s oldest soil, predominantly clay mixed with flint.

The eau-de-vie from Borderies features distinct violet aromas as well as nutty and toffee flavors that aren’t found in the other crus. 

“Borderies comes in very soft, stays very soft [on] the palate, and then there’s a powerful explosion at the end,” says Tessendier.

Camus and Cognac Park are both known for making Borderies-specific Cognac.

Fins Bois

The largest cru, Fins Bois is over ten times the size of Grande Champagne. 

The soil in this region features thin, clay-limestone and stone, and is surprisingly similar to the wine region of Burgundy. The eau-de-vie from Fins Bois tends to be round and fruity and doesn’t age as well as the brandy from the three more central regions.

Due to the region’s size, however, there can be a large difference between individual vineyards, meaning some have soil more similar to that of Grande Champagne. 

“Fins Bois or Bons Bois ages faster, is rounder faster, than a Grande Champagne or a Petite Champagne,” says Tessendier. “So the basic blend, the usual blend, you are using more Bons Bois, Fins Bois for younger Cognac and Grand Champagne or Petite Champagne for older Cognac.”

Bons Bois

Bons Bois has a lot of similarities to Fins Bois, but there’s more sandy soil to go along with the mixture of clay and limestone. As Tessendier explained, the Cognac here is known for aging faster. 

This is also a larger area of Cognac, which means some vineyards produce high-quality Cognac due to pockets of chalky soil. 

Bois Ordinaires

The ocean has a distinct influence on the eau-de-vie from the Bois Ordinaires cru. The region, which includes the islands of Ile de Re and Ile d’Oleron, has a soil that tends to be very sandy and produces Cognacs with a characteristic maritime influence.

In 2021, Camus made a Cognac solely using grapes from Ile de Re, which quickly became a fan favorite.

This area also includes some of western France’s most iconic towns, like La Rochelle and Rochefort.