The Cognac AOC – appellation d’origine contrôlée or controlled appellation of origin – is governed by three main legal texts:

• The May 1 st, 1909 modified decree establishes the General Area for the production of Cognac, that is, what is known as the "Delimited Region".
• The May 15th, 1936 modified decree defines the controlled appellations of « Cognac », « Eau-de-vie de Cognac » and « Eau-de-Vie des Charentes ».
• The January 13th, 1938 modified decree defines the various controlled ppellations areas within the Delimited Region.

The Delimited Region for the production of Cognac was established by the decree of May 1st, 1909.
It includes the entire department of the Charente-Maritime, most of the department of Charente and small parts of the Deux-Sèvres and Dordogne departments. According to the 1936 decree, the following grape varieties only can be used for the production of wine for the Controlled Appellations Cognac, Eau-de-vie de Cognac and Eau-de-vie des Charentes:

• Colombard, Folle Blanche, Jurançon blanc, Meslier Saint-François, Montils, Sémillon, and Ugni Blanc.
• Folignan, Sélect (each representing a maximum of 10% of the plantings).

The Delimited Area is made up of six districts of production as defined by the 1938 decree :

• Grande Champagne
• Petite Champagne
• Borderies
• Fins Bois
• Bons Bois
• Bois ordinaires or Bois à Terroir

Note
Wines used for producing eaux-de-vie under the controlled appellations "Grande Champagne", "Petite Champagne", "Fine Champagne", "Borderies", "Fins Bois", and "Bons Bois" come from the following grape varieties (1938 Decree):

• Colombard, Folle Blanche, and Ugni blanc
• Folignan, Jurançon blanc, Meslier St-François, Montils, Sélect, and Sémillon (each representing a maximum of 10% of the plantings)

• Addition of sugar (1936 Decree)
• Charente................................... Absolute ban,
• Charente Maritime..................... idem, additionnally, a certificate of non-sugaring must be provided.
• Prohibition of the use of the Archimedes' screw press (continuous press) (1936 Decree).

Cognac is distilled following a specific, traditional, two-stage method (1936 Decree):

• Charentaise method by production of "brouillis" (first distillation) and "repasse" (second distillation).
• Use of a traditional Charentais still of a total capacity not exceeding 30 hl and a maximum load of 25 hl for the second distillation known as "bonne chauffe".
• Maximum alcohol content of distillation: 72 % alcohol by volume at 15°C (59 ºF).
• Distillation must be completed by March 31st following the harvest.

Cognac's commercialization must respect a set of rules in order to carry the Cognac Controlled Appellation of Origin.

• Ageing may only take place in a storage facility registered by the BNIC, This registration is mandatory to obtain the necessary Cognac certificates guaranteeing age and origin that only the BNIC is authorized to issue for export operations. (2003 executive Order)
• Ageing must take place In oak casks (using Limousin or Tronçais-type oak, "sessile" or "pedunculate" oak, according to use).
• Inventory and Age control performed by the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC) (2003 executive Order).
• Minimum ageing for maketable Cognac: ageing compte 2 (24 months following the end of the distillation period)

• Minimum alcohol content to be sold to customers in France and abroad: 40 % alcohol by volume. (1936 Decree).
• All additives are prohibited (1921 Decree) with the exception of:
• reduction with distilled or demineralized water
• sugar, caramel, oak infusion for final adjustment.
  Rules Regarding Ageing Designations
  A decision of a Government Commissioner to BNIC (1983 Decision) has codified the usage of the designations based on the time of ageing for the Cognacs in the blends.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  FINE
  The word "Fine" can only be used for Controlled Appellation eaux-de-vie of wine or cider such as « Fine Cognac », « Grande Fine Champagne »... (Law of 1928)
  
  Note
  • "Fine Champagne" is a controlled appellation of origin obtained by blending Grande and Petite Champagne eaux-de-vie, with a minimum of 50% from Grande Champagne. (1938 Decree)
  • "Grande Fine Champagne" is a synonym of
    "Grande Champagne". (1938 Decree)
  • "Petite Fine Champagne" is a synonym of
    "Petite Champagne". (1938 Decree)
  
  
  
   
  Cognac Controlled Appellation of Origin legal texts (only available in french version)
    - Decree of May 1, 1909, as modified
   - Decree of May 15, 1936, as modified
   - Decree of January 13, 1938, as modified
   - Decree of August 19, 1921
   - Law of February 20, 1928
   - Decision of the Government Commissioner for BNIC of August 23, 1983
   - Order of July 27, 2003, as rectified
  
  
  See also
• Delimited Region
• Distillation
• Harvest
• Ageing
• Reading a Label