Back in October 2023, a press release came out about Tennessee whiskey producer Uncle Nearest. They announced that they’re jumping into the cognac world after acquiring 100 acres of vineyards in the Charente region. This marks a big transition for the brand which I’m absolutely sure they’ll do great with. Given their rapid success over the past several years, we should be confident in their abilities to make their new cognac brand work in their favor.
The property purchased by Uncle Nearest is named Domaine Saint-Martin. The estate has been around for over 350 years and is linked to the first Lord Mayor of Cognac, Philippe Fé de Ségeville. It includes 50 acres of vineyards that are encircled by the Charente River. The property has been tended to by the Martell family for four generations.
In a quote given to PR Newswire, Uncle Nearest founder and CEO Fawn Weaver had this to say: “The Uncle Nearest brand thrives on its profound story of love, honor, respect and heritage. Our mission in Cognac echoes this essence.” This latest venture will be led by Adrian Parker, a spirits industry executive whom has worked for the likes of Bacardi and Patrón.
“Under Fawn’s guidance and innovative approach, the Uncle Nearest team has created a playbook for independent spirits that has never before been seen,” stated Parker in that same PR Newswire release. “In four years, they have grown Nearest Green Distillery to the seventh most visited distillery in the world. While there recently, I observed cars backed up for 1.5 miles each way trying to get in, with more than 14,000 visiting that weekend. The Uncle Nearest team went from distribution in one state to all 50 states in less than two years and their sales now rank them in the top 10 of all ultra-premium American whiskey companies, the only independent company in that ranking.”
Continuing their Journey
In an exclusive interview with The Spirits Business, Fawn Weaver explained that the majority of top spirits conglomerates are all, “owned and led by white men – despite America being a diverse nation. 70% of its population is comprised of women and people of color, a number that continues to rise.”
According to Weaver, 80% of cognac drinkers are minorities. The vast majority of them are within the Black American, Hispanic and Asian communities. “Yet the incredible story of how and why cognac gained such popularity in America and China, especially among minorities, remains largely untold,” Weaver stated.
Something very unique to this press release was also shared by Weaver. The brand plans to showcase a short film about cognac, which will premiere at multiple independent film festivals. Weaver and the Uncle Nearest team spent much of 2023 studying the roots of cognac. Much of the research went into the creation of the film. The film portrays cognac’s rise in America, Europe and Asia and features narration by actor Jeffrey Wright. Wright is best known for his appearances in “The Batman,” “Shaft” and “Westworld.”
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The Spirits Business seems to be the first to report on this matter about three months ago. I gave pause to posting about this news as I found that several online publications began incorrectly reporting on this. The are many instances of poor wording choices or obvious misses due to whoever was writing not knowing the subject matter. Due to no fault of the Uncle Nearest team (I’d like to make that very clear), these other entities did not fact check and/or altered the original release, whether intentionally or not. In the spirit of proper representation in the cognac realm, we’ll look at the issues below.
Clearing Up Confusion
The property in question, Domaine Saint-Martin, is located in Grande Champagne. However, of the 100 acres, or 41 hectares, of vineyards purchased in this deal, some vines are in Petite Champagne. The original press release from The Spirits Business is quoted as saying, “Fifty acres are within Grande Champagne, representing 40% of the cru.” Some articles, such as from PR Newswire, even have their article headline stating, “Uncle Nearest is now the largest Grande Champagne vineyard owner in Cognac.” Other online publications say similar things, whether directing quoting the 40% statement or changing it into other words.
This is the first issue. Let’s talk about the actual land purchased by Uncle Nearest. Yes, over 40% of the 100 acres of land purchased is in Grande Champagne. However, the way it’s stated on many of these platforms is that they now own the most vineyards in Grande Champagne. That is inaccurate. The largest owner of vineyards in Grande Champagne is Maison Boinaud. They have 1500 acres, or 38 times the amount of Uncle Nearest.
If they’d like to say Uncle Nearest owns the majority of vineyards in the city of Cognac itself, that might be correct as there are very few vines within the city limits itself. But to talk about the entire Grande Champagne cru is way over the top. Clearly, the writers not knowing the difference between the city of Cognac vs. the cognac region as a whole came into play. And of course not knowing about the size of the crus or other producers in the region.
What’s Included with the Purchase?
The second issue is that of the purchase itself. Again, referring to The Spirits Business article, it mentions, “the site also adjoins a cooperage, cellars and a distillery.” This is definitely true, but the way it’s worded within the article seems to insinuate that they own all of that. They do not. The only thing under ownership by Uncle Nearest are the vineyards themselves. No cooperage, cellars, or distillery were included in the purchase.
Will Uncle Nearest Act as a Négociant?
Lastly, the release of their new cognac is coming sometime in 2024. That means they are not distilling or aging anything themselves upon the initial release. This land purchase was in 2023 after the harvest was already complete. Cognac needs a minimum of two years aging before it dons the cognac moniker. Instead, what they must be doing is what’s very commonplace in cognac production: purchasing already aged distillate, blending it, and labeling it under their own name. Perhaps purchasing eaux-de-vie from the adjoining cellars around their new property? That would be a fair guess.
As I’ve strongly stated before on Cognac Reverie, in no way does this lessen a brand. Much like in American whiskey production, spirit can be bought and rebranded as ones own. The art comes in the blending. Since they’ll need distillate moving forward, using a Bouilleurs de Profession and that distillery near the property would make sense. Also, the surrounding cellars would more than likely have a good amount of aging stock in them to buy for blending. However, all this will have to wait until the next harvest.
Again, to no fault of Uncle Nearest, things can get muddied when copying and pasting articles. Much like the telephone game, it changes quickly over each iteration. It’s unfortunate that these publications can’t take the time to do a simple fact check. But that’s okay. Cognac Reverie will do its best to straighten it all out. We look forward to seeing what the Uncle Nearest team puts together and wish them the best of luck.
