The oldest cognacs in the world
Over the years, with some regularity, an old bottle of cognac has been ‘discovered’ that is claimed to be the oldest bottle of cognac in the world. How reliable is this? This is a difficult matter and below I give some explanation as to why.
Cognac was already made in the 16th century, only it was not called cognac then. The name cognac only came into use in the mid-17th century. At that time, cognac was mainly sold in wooden barrels. The use of bottles for cognac only started around 1850. Brand names were not registered until then. It was only from 1856 that brand names were registered.
So cognac from well before that time, let’s say from the 18th century, was first kept in wooden barrels before being bottled. There was no careful registration in those days. Also, it was not common to keep cognac for decades, as money had to be made.
So if a bottle of cognac is found from, say, 1715, and it has a brand name of AE Dor or Jules Robin to name just two companies that were not founded until the 19th century, then these companies must have found old barrels of cognac somewhere and must have been able to trace what the distillation date was. Of course, it is now impossible to verify how reliable that data is. Especially if those companies no longer exist, like Jules Robin.
This is not to say it is all out of the blue. But a healthy dose of suspicion and vigilance is called for.
Of a few bottles, the history is reasonably documented. Such as some bottles that have spent more than 100 years in a top French restaurant, like a cognac Clos de Griffier from 1738, for example, or the Gautiers from 1762.
Below is a table of vintage cognacs from the 18th century and older. As you can see, a lot of those are considered forgeries.
| Distillation year | brand | picture | remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1677 | AE Dor |  | is considered a forgery |
| 1694 | Martell |  | said to have been botteld in 1874; is considered a forgery |
| 1696 | Jules Robin |  | sold at auction in 2020 for $150.000 by a Dutch individual; oldest bottle according to the Guiness Book of Records. Very probably fake. |
| 1706 | Frapin |  | is considered a forgery |
| 1717 | Martell |  | is considered a forgery |
| 1720 | Ranson & Delamain |  | said to have been bottled in 1800; is considered a forgery |
| 1720 | Caves du Restaurant du Casino Municipal de Nice |  | This was the oldest bottle in 2023 according to the Guiness Book of Records; In possession of a Vietnamese billionaire. |
| 1721 | Café Voisin |  | This was the oldest bottle in 2023 according to the Guiness Book of Records; In possession of a Vietnamese billionaire. |
| 1725 | Otard, Dupuy & Co. |  | is considered a forgery |
| 1727 | Frapin |  | is considered a forgery |
| 1732 | Courvoisier |  | is considered a forgery |
| 1734 | Caves Gilot |  | This one too was once a candidate for being the oldest cognac bottle in existence |
| 1738 | Clos de Griffier |  | Well documented; has been in possession of the famous Parisian restaurant Lucas Carton for a long time; bottled in the 1830s. Thought to be the oldest bottle in 2010. |
| 1739 | Martell |  | is considered a forgery |
| 1744 | Otard, Dupuy & Co. |  | is considered a forgery |
| 1746 | Frapin |  | is considered a forgery |
| 1747 | Hennessy |  | Said to have been bottled in 1887; is considered a forgery |
| 1747 | Clos de Griffier |  | Owned by Parisian restaurant La Rue |
| 1758 | Courvoisier |  | Bottled in 1898; cosidered a forgery |
| 1760 | Martell |  | is considered a forgery |
| 1762 | Gautier |  | 'Grande brother'. Bought in 2020 for 122.696 pound by Nguyen Dinh Tuan Viet. Was once the oldest according to Guiness Book of Records |
| 1762 | Gautier |  | 'Petite frère'. Sold at auction in New York in 2014 for 48.000 pound. It is opened and sold drop by drop in high priced watches, coins and fountain pens. |
| 1762 | Gautier | 'Petite soeur'. Is in the French Gautier. Smallest of the three 1762 Gautier bottles. museum. | |
| 1762 | Ranson & Delamain |  | Said to have been bottled in 1907; is considered a forgery |
| 1763 | Courvoisier |  | Said to have been bottled in 1898; is considered a forgery |
| 1767 | Coutanseaux |  | Sold in 2014 by a London hotel for $164.000,00. as a 1767 vintage; 1767 is the founding date of Coutanseaux and this is not a vintage. |
| 1767 | Frapin |  | is considered a forgery |
| 1768 | Otard, Dupuy & Co. |  | is considered a forgery |
| 1771 | Ranson & Delamain |  | Said to have been bottled in 1905; is considered a forgery |
| 1777 | Hardy |  | There are more 1777 Hardy vintage bottles, with different labels and closures |
| 1780 | Martell |  | Said to have been bottled in 1900; is considered a forgery |
| 1780 | Ranson & Delamain |  | Said to have been bottled in 1907; is considered a forgery |
| 1780 | Rémy Martin |  | |
| 1786 | Bisquit-Dubouché & Co. |  | is considered a forgery |
| 1789 | Courvoisier |  | 70.000 pond; doubtful |
| 1789 | Frapin |  | |
| 1789 | Hennessy |  | Bottled by Harvey and Sons in 1969 |
| 1789 | Meukow |  | |
| 1789 | Salignac |  | |
| 1793 | Camus |  | Said to have been bottled in 1863; is considered a forgery |
| 1795 | Brugerolle |  | ca. 5L bottle, bottled in 1865. Sold in Chicago 1990. by Christie's. |
| 1796 | Otard, Dupuy & Co. |  | Said to have been bottled in 1900; is considered a forgery |
Thanks Ton,
I have included a picture of the glass this time. Hopefully someone can explain the history of this type of glass embossing. I was told the other bottle I found, had been decanted in the 70’s, so that would explain the difference in no foil or embossing on it. The only other significant note I have is this year was when Napoleon crowned himself Emperor. If requested I can forward a picture of the foil.
I have been looking to evaluate a Favraud 1804 Cognac. Over the years I have only seen one other bottle but it did not have the foil or the glass embossment. Can you provide any other history or value?
I haven’t seen this one before. Sorry, I can’t help you.
Anyone else maybe?
Ton
Hi There
Me and my father are Cognac Collectors since 2016, we are the current owners of the 1795 Brugerolle Aigle d‘or.
Last month we purchased the Martell 1739 and The Otard Dupuy 1768 from Whisky Auctioneer. Now are very suspicious about the veracity of those bottles. Whisky auctioneer sold 5 bottles of the 18th century in February and this month they are again selling 3 bottles of cognac from the 18th century.
It would be very kind of you, if you could tell us from who or where you got the pictures of the Martell 1739, Otard 1768 and Frapin 1767 (this one is up for auction right now).
Thank you
Best regards
Kevin
They were sent to me by a Russion collector.