Paradise lies deep beneath Chateau Courvoisier and is aptly named for within this cellar's blackened walls and damp, musty atmosphere are housed some three thousand bottles of the Chateau's finer cognac. "All these bottles are absolutely priceless," says Monsieur Guy de la Celle, Director of Communications. With a certain Gallic non-chalance he adds, "We have two bottles from 1789, but the fact that they are this old does not mean anything in terms of true age if we consider that only time spent in the cask adds value."

To say that this place is paradise is an exaggeration of only the smallest degree, for it is truly favoured by the gods. A place of mild winters and of summers cooled by an Atlantic breeze. A place of bright clear skies warmed by a gentle sun. We are in the heart of Cognac: a picture postcard land of gently sloping hills and valleys whose chalky soil spills out either side of the River Charante in France's south-west.

It is otherwise known as Jarnac, 'a small town of 5,000 people which has been the headquarters of Cognac Courvoisiers since 1835. The company's annual production of 20 million bottles of the precious liquid makes it one of the world's leading cognac houses in company with Remy Martin, Hennessy and Martell. This extraordinary output contributes substantially to the one billion dollars generated by the region annually in sales.

"This area is really very big business," says Guy de la Celle. "Over eighty per cent of the cognac is exported, and for the bigger companies like Courvoiser, the figure is even larger, about ninety-five percent.

"Altogether, there are over 228 cognac houses throughout the region. Most are very small, selling to the domestic markets in France, Belgium and Switzerland; all French-speaking countries making it easier to deal with them." The neighbouring houses are scattered throughout the region's six legally-defined Crus: areas classified by law according to the soil that they produce and ranging in quality from the superior Grande Champagne to the lesser Bois Ordinaires. Although the produce of each Cru contributes its own distinctive character to the final blend of cognac, Courvoisier, with their philosophy of excellence, select on the 'Eaux-de-vie' as the cognac is poetically christened in its early life, from the four finest Crus.

Over one hundred different cognacs from numerous vineyards throughout the region, will comprise the final blend and this is why M. de la Celle remains unimpressed by the age of the bottle. "It is very difficult to speak about vintage in cognac," he says. "First of all, legislation makes it very difficult to be vintaged. Unlike wine, cognac ceases its maturation when it is bottled and the aim of blending is to refine the cognac until both a consistent quality and a distinctive Courvoisier taste is achieved." In the late morning of each day, cellar-master, Jean Marc Olivier, together with his team of highly-skilled blenders, perform the task of tasting the maturing nectar. This ritual monitors the progress of the cognac and determines the necessary adjustments.

"The maitre de takes great care with the aging of the cognacs," says, M de la Celle. "He will know from which area the eau-de-vie was bought and if it was a Fin Bois, which will be used relatively young, or a Grande Champagne, which requires a longer time to mature. He will decide for which quality of cognac he will use the eau-de-vie and whether he will blend it quite soon or age it for fifty or sixty years."

Courvoisier's fame stems not simply from the purveyance of fine cognacs: Cognac Courvoisier is renowned as the preferred cognac of a particular French Emperor, one, it might be said, of extraordinary good taste. "Emmanuel Courvoisier, together with his partner, Louis Gallois, ran a successful wine and spirit business in Paris early last century, when (in a momentous marketing coup), he succeeded in supplying the Emperor Napoleon and his armies with their wares, including cognac, a particular favourite of the Emperor," says Guy.
"Courvoisier's cognac gained fame as "Le Cognac de Napoleon' and was honoured in 1869 with the cachet, 'Purveyor By Special Appointment To The Court of Napoleon III' who was the nephew of the original Emperor. By this time, Courvoisier was in the hands of the owners' sons and it was they who established Le Chateau de Cognac Courvoisier at Jarnac in 1835.

"It was bought in 1909 by an English family, the Simon brothers. They operated a distributing company in Paris called, 'Simon Freres' and one in London, which still existed up until a few years ago. I would say, that this was the beginning of Courvoisier as a force. The brothers brought Courvoisier to the world."

It was the Simon brothers who developed the bottle known as the 'Josephine' to house their Cognac Napoleon, thus marrying the Emperor and his Empress for eternity. Their most brilliant achievement however, was to create the 'Shadow of Napoleon' crest which has since come to symbolise not only Cognac Napoleon, but serves to affirm the pedigree and heritage of Courvoisier itself.

"The company expanded very rapidly and in order to maintain the necessary reserves of Cognac, they had to look outside for the financial backing. In 1964, it was sold to its U.S. and Canadian distributors, Hiram Walker who in turn, were taken over two years ago by the British Food and Beverage giant, Allied Lyons."

Sensibly, they leave Courvoisier alone to continue its traditional pursuit of excellence. "So, now we are English," smiles Guy ruefully, adding with just a touch of defiance, "The finance may be British but of course the art remains French!"

Yet, exactly how can cognac be defined? Made from distilled wine it is essentially a brandy. "Since Romans times, the region was renowned for the quality of its wines, but in the seventeenth century, for reasons which we do not know, the vineyards began to produce distilled spirit, say M. de la Celle. This spirit was as we know it, brandy. "You have to use the word 'cognac' here, otherwise you are put in jail," chuckles M. de la Celle. "We don't dislike brandy, but we feel that the distinction has to be made: it is very important. There is such a large difference: Cognac is the area. The distinction is one of soil and of climate - even from one Cru to another regarding the wine that makes the cognac.

French law allows only nine varieties of grapevines for use in cognac and of these; the Ugni Blanc, the Folle Blanche and the Colombar must comprise at least 90%. Taking their liquor laws even more seriously that the judiciary, the cognac houses almost exclusively use eaux-de-vie distilled from the wine of the Ugni Blanc grape. "In this area, we are growing about 80,000 hectares of vineyards, almost all of which is the Ugni Blanc, says M. de la Celle. "I believe that it is the largest crop of a single grape variety in the world.

Harvesting begins in October and is, a some may imagine, a lengthy process. "It continues for three to four weeks and nowadays approximately 80% is done by machine. Then we press the grapes in a manner which extracts the juices but leaves the unpleasant tasting pips and stalks untouched," explains M. de la Celle. "Today, it is also done by machine but it is still a very natural process. The juice is allowed to ferment naturally for about one month and then we can begin distilling on the first of November until - as set down by law - the last day of March.

Distillation adheres to age-old tradition and is perhaps the process which most distinguishes cognac from other brandies, armagnacs and indeed, any spirit. "It is a simple process, the same one in fact that has been employed in the area since the seventeenth century using the same pot-still. There have been no variations," insists. Guy. Well, perhaps one. "We have added what we call a pre-heater. it is a large round vat where the wine to be distilled next is warmed by the vapours from the pot-still making its distillation a more rapid process.."

Hand-fashioned to an onion shape with its swan-like neck, the alembic, or pot-still, is crafted exclusively from copper and heated only by an open flame, in accordance with tradition - and law! Distillation is essentially a quest for the 'heart' of the cognac and the distiller's art is to decide at which points to remove the impure 'head' and 'tail' of the eau-de-vie which undergoes a unique double-distillation.

"It is a more expensive method of distilling," according to Guy. "The first distillation, which takes about ten hours is really to remove the alcohol from the wine. The second distillation takes slightly longer and is the most important part because it isolates the 'heart' - the purest part of the cognac, what remains is a potent, crystal clear liquid which is about 70% alcohol.

The young spirit is now given its character. "Ageing is a combination of many elements; it is a balance of air, humidity the wooden casks and the cognac itself," says Guy. "Once the heart of the cognac has been gathered, it is transported here to the cellars. It is of course, put into oak casks. It has to be oak and not just any sort of oak: it must be oak from one of two huge forests next to the cognac region. We have tried oak from Portugal, Spain and Canada but the ageing of cognac in this oak resulted in a completely different product. It had nothing to do with cognac."

In a four hour ritual involving little more than fire and water, a skilled cooper will transform a ten or fifteen metre oak tree into a single cask; a hand-signed work of art consisting of split and hand-fashioned slats of oak bound by metal hoops. The wood must be split as sawing would destroy the grain, interfering with the precious tannins which are absorbed by the cognac in a mysterious interaction which to this day remains nature's secret.

"In time the eau-de-vie takes on a pale golden colour and develops a faint hint of sweetness. Older cognacs, therefore, have a fuller taste and a richer, deeper colour. As air penetrates the wood, it allows a gradual oxidisation, mellowing and softening of the cognac," says Guy. Evaporation of the alcohol requires constant replenishment of the casks and unlike many cognac houses which add distilled water to reduce the problem. Courvoisier maintains a natural ageing to achieve a purer, finer liquid . The cognac houses designate this unavoidable loss, "The Angel's Share', a most philosophical attitude when once considers that the annual evaporation of cognac throughout the region amounts to an incredible 23 million bottles!"

"Young cognac is matured in new barrels, which age the spirit rapidly, whilst older cognacs are transferred to older casks where tannin extraction becomes a slower process and the possibility of an overly 'woody' taste is avoided."

The final stage is the blending of the various cognacs to achieve the quality of Cognac Courvoisier and in this, Courvoisier have great freedom. "At Courvoisier, we have no vineyards and no distilleries," says Guy. "We have instead, agreements with a few select distillers from whom we buy very young eaux-de-vie. In this way we can always buy the best.

"We have a stock equivalent to 80 million bottles of cognac which we are ageing, some from the nineteenth century. But, it must be noted, cognac is a blend of many vintages; from a minimum of three years, it can be aged indefinitely. To produce a fine bottle of cognac, Courvoisier will take up to sixty years perhaps more. There is simply no other way to produce cognac of a similar quality." And that's a long time between drinks.

In addition to the celebrated Cognac Napoleon, Courvoisier have a selection of diverse cognacs. From a young -seven year old - smooth, golden coloured Courvoisier THREE STAR/LUXE to Courvoiser's V.S.O.P. - a Very Superior Old Pale, made only with the produce of the finest Crus, Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne, whose delicate amber colour reveals an elegant nose and bouquet with finesse, this cognac has an average age of fifteen years. Additionally, there is the Courvoisier XO, which is fifty years old on average and has all the seductive smoothness and tantalising bouquet of older style cognacs, but is spared any of the heaviness which can affect the latter.

In producing their cognac, Courvoisier employ many little touches which to the uninitiated may appear to be exercises in indulgence, but are in reality necessary to maintain the purity of their cognac. One such activity, is the mandatory rinsing and filtering of the bottles prior to decanting with an identical cognac.

Those who believe cognac to be just an after dinner indulgence would be pleasantly surprised to learn of the versatility in usage of cognac throughout its history. "It is such a marvellous quality product it can be used in many ways," says Guy. "In the bars before the war, the French drank it with water. Then whisky arrived on the scene with its youthful images of cowboys and the like... the practise has virtually disappeared. But if you do try cognac with water, you find that it is really very good, very smooth."

The Chinese also enjoy it, but with their meals! Interestingly, Guy is enthusiastic about such unusual practice. "Cognac is absolutely perfect with Chinese food," he exclaims. "I have tried wine, beer, tea and even sake'; but nothing compares with a cognac as an accompaniment. There is a communion between all the elements - a perfect balance." Statistics seem to support these claims: the United States may indeed buy more cognac than any other country, bit it is the tiny island state of Hong Kong which is, in terms of per capita consumption, the largest market in the world of cognac.

Whilst Australians are still discovering fully the pleasures of fine cognac, the Japanese are an established market. "The Japanese are not large eaters or drinkers but they embrace the art of giving gifts," says Guy. "Twice a year, they ceremoniously give a gift to someone; whether it be a workmate or a relative, and amongst the most appreciated and prestigious of these gifts is a fine cognac." So we have discerned that cognac can accompany a meal in a most delightful way but, as an ingredient in the actual cooking? Guy is adamant, "Cognac is absolutely superb in cooking, although most people do not know how to use it correctly: they just take the bottle and pour. This is wrong. It should be utilised like any other ingredient: measured in the right amount, with the artistry of the cook."

To honour the artistry involved in creating cognac, Courvoisier have, over the years, produced special edition releases such as CHATEAU LIMOGES, which presents the finest cognac in the finest quality porcelain; COUR IMPERIALE whose stunning 'gold' decanter contains the finest aged Champagne cognacs, and the VOC 'EXTRA' BACCARAT DECANTER, designed exclusively for Courvoisier by the House of Baccarat to house a blend of Extra Old Superlative cognacs.

But perhaps the finest was the edition to the Courvoisier court, the newly-released Courvoisier COLLECTION ERTE, for which the prolific, nonogenarian master of Art Deco created a truly magnificent decanter. "We released only 12,000 numbered bottles to house a blend of Grande Champagne cognacs which date back to 1892," says Guy proudly. "It is our oldest available vintage and, in a happy coincidence, was the year of Erte's birth."

Returning to the hallowed halls of Paradis, we are coincidentally, surrounding by alchemy of the highest order; casks of 1892 vintage cognac which will form the basis of Cognac Courvoisier COLLECTION ERTE. Instilled with the artistry and the sense of history that pervades the Chateau, one is given to reflection upon this spirit. Guy de la Celle whispers with reverence,

"It is a religious atmosphere, n'est-ce-pas?"