Cognac Petite Champagne is Cognac made in the traditional way – and under the production conditions of the Cognac appellation – from grapes grown in the Petite Champagne cru. The name often leads to confusion between Cognac and the Champagne sparkling wine region, 300 miles (280km) to the north, but this is easily explained. Champagne originally meant 'open country' and carried connotations of idyllic, perhaps gently rolling, pastoral landscapes – a character demonstrated by both of the great vineyard regions which bear the name. In both cases, the champagne landscape in question is characterized by a high content of chalk or limestone. These geological factors are an essential part of the terroir.
The Cognac vineyards are classified into six crus (delimited growing areas), which radiate unevenly from the eponymous town itself. Despite its name, Petite Champagne is actually more than twice the size of its Grande Champagne neighbor. In 2009, the total area qualifying for the title was 130,000 acres (52,000ha). A remarkable 31% of this is planted with vines used for Cognac production, making it hard to walk around the cru without standing within – or at least near – a Cognac Petite Champagne vineyard. The cru is located to the south of Cognac itself, forming a semi-circle that stretches from Pons in the west to Chateauneuf-sur-Cherante in the east – a commune which is unrelated to Chateauneuf-du-Pape, far away on the other side of France.
The Petite Champagne terroir is characterized by a maritime climate and chalky soils over limestone and sandstone bedrock. With the concept and importance of terroir being as important in Cognac as anywhere else in France, these white soils are widely viewed as the reason behind the finesse and elegance of Petite Champagne Cognac. They were laid down about 85 million years ago, when global sea levels were at their highest and the area was essentially the eastern corner of the Atlantic seabed. Millions upon millions of seashells were deposited during this time, then ground up over the millennia and compacted into the chalk and limestone which remain today. Such was the impact of on local geology that the age has been named the 'Santonian'; Saintonge was the early name for the area around Saintes – the nearest major settlement west of Cognac town.
Like its counterparts, Petite Champagne Cognac is made mostly from Ugni Blanc, with certain quantities of Colombard and Folle Blanche. It has marked fruity, floral aromas and is famed for its balance of intensity and elegance. It takes decades to evolve into its finest form, typically requiring between 20 and 30 years. Cognac develops only in barrel, where it is free to interact with a limited, but all-important, supply of oxygen. It ceases to change and mature once it is bottled.
