Audry Mémorial

Audry Mémorial, Fine Champagne Hors d'Âge

Founded in 1878 by Auguste Edmond Audry and revived a century later, in 1978, by Bernard Boisson, Maison Audry carries on a heritage of expertise in Cognac, now led by Mathieu Vanhalst. The Mémorial is the most accomplished expression of this heritage: a Fine Champagne blend composed of eaux-de-vie aged between forty and forty-five years, with no added oak, caramel, or sugar. This cuvée belongs to the timeless category of Hors d’Âge, where cognac becomes the living memory of a terroir and a cellar.

Tasting the Audry Mémorial, a Fine Champagne born of forty years of patience

The Tasting

The color displays mahogany tones with coppery highlights, reflecting the depth characteristic of very long aging in a humid cellar. On the initial nose, the Audry Mémorial opens with notes of green pepper and fresh apple—unexpected at this age—before aeration reveals a highly complex aromatic palette: noble spices, blond tobacco, roasted coffee, cacao, followed by a pronounced rancio—the unmistakable signature of patiently aged brandies. On the palate, the attack is rich and velvety, carried by nuances of anise, violet, flambéed pineapple, and licorice. The mid-palate is full-bodied, silky, and possesses a restrained warmth. The finish, long and satiny, lingers on notes of aged honey and maintains the rancio character, resulting in remarkable length.

• Age classification: Hors d’Âge, a category beyond time, the most prestigious of all Cognac designations, a blend of very old eaux-de-vie
• Appellation: Fine Champagne (Grande Champagne + Petite Champagne)
• Age of eaux-de-vie: between 40 and 45 years
• Grape variety: Ugni Blanc
• Aging: aged first in new barrels, then in old barrels, in a humid cellar
• Type of oak: forests of Limousin and Tronçais
• No additives: no oak, no caramel, no added sugar
• Filtration: light
• Alcohol content: 42% vol.

Food and Wine Pairings

The Audry Mémorial is best enjoyed on its own, at the end of a meal, to fully appreciate its bouquet. A square of 80% dark chocolate or a few fine candied fruits—such as figs or prunes—make for subtle accompaniments that do not overshadow the richness of the blend. Cigar enthusiasts will find an exceptional pairing here, as its rancio character naturally complements the earthy notes of a high-quality Havana cigar. Using it in a cocktail would be contrary to the nature of this cuvée.

Aging Potential

This cognac is best served in a tulip-shaped glass, which concentrates the aromas toward the nose while limiting the ethanol saturation typical of balloon glasses. Pour three to four centiliters into the widest part of the glass, and gently warm the glass in the palm of your hand for a few minutes to gradually release the tertiary aromas and the rancio. Bring your nose to the glass in stages to first capture the volatile notes and then the deeper nuances. Once bottled, this cognac will no longer evolve: an unopened bottle can be stored indefinitely away from light, in a cool, dry place, in an upright position. Once opened, it retains its qualities for several months if carefully recorked.

From Grande Champagne to the humid cellar: the making of Audry Mémorial

The vintage in the vineyard

Fine Champagne refers to a blend in which Grande Champagne—Cognac’s premier cru—accounts for at least 50% of the eaux-de-vie, complemented by Petite Champagne. These two crus share Cretaceous limestone soils, true reservoirs of minerality that impart to the eaux-de-vie a finesse and a capacity for slow aging unmatched in the region. The Ugni Blanc grape variety, grown in the temperate oceanic climate of the Charente, produces a base wine that is naturally acidic and low in alcohol—qualities essential for highly precise distillation. It is on this foundation that Maison Audry builds each vintage of its blend.

Work in the Cellar

The base wine—a dry, acidic white—undergoes double distillation in Charente-style copper pot stills with a “repasse” (second run) according to the traditional Charente method. The Cellar Master carefully separates the “heads,” “heart,” and “tails” to retain only the finest part of the distillation. The eaux-de-vie are first transferred to new oak barrels, sourced from the forests of Limousin and Tronçais, to lock in the natural aromatic potential, before being moved to older barrels in a humid cellar, where aging takes place slowly, rounding out the flavor and accelerating the loss of alcohol content. Year after year, the angels’ share takes its toll. After forty to forty-five years of ageing, Mathieu Vanhalst carries out the final blending and gradually reduces the alcohol content to 42% vol., without additives, before a light filtration that preserves the aromatic integrity of the Mémorial.