Cognac oil (wine lees oil)

Wine, ripe fruit, oily, slightly soapy and waxy. A clear cognac and brandy note with raisin and light floral facets.

Cognac oil has no dedicated standard in the IFRA 51 index. In the United States cognac oil (white and green) is named on the 21 CFR 182.50 GRAS list.

The material consists mainly of ethyl esters of fatty acids. Store dark, sealed and cool.

Cognac oil is not cognac. It is distilled from wine lees: the spent yeast and sediment that settle in vats after fermentation. The lees are rich in ethyl esters of fatty acids produced by yeast.

Green oil is the direct distillate; its colour is traditionally attributed to copper stills. White oil is rectified green oil, colourless with a cleaner odour.

Main constituents are ethyl octanoate, ethyl decanoate and ethyl dodecanoate. These esters give winey, fruity and waxy notes. Content varies with wine and lees type.

In flavours cognac oil gives a brandy note to confectionery and drinks. In perfumery it is used in small amounts for cognac, rum and ripe-fruit notes in gourmand and tobacco accords.

The Cognac region of southwestern France is the best-known source, but lees oil is also made in other wine regions. Supply is small and depends on the wine industry.

Cognac oil is a liquid that dissolves readily in ethanol and oils. It is very strong; small amounts give a boozy note. On dilution the waxy, soapy notes fade and raisin and fruit come forward. In formulas it often accompanies synthetic fruit esters for rum or cognac accords. Being distilled from a by-product, its quality depends on the lees and the distillation. It is also used in tobacco flavours.