Following its initial fruit distillation, raw brandy is pretty unpalatable and requires several years to mature and develop its remarkable flavors; even so, the exact amount of time to age a brandy can vary dramatically. Some more regulated types of brandy, including Cognac and Armagnac, are required to age for a minimum amount of time in oak barrels, though most distillers opt to age their brandies for significantly longer, which improves the quality and undoubtedly raises the price per bottle. On the whole, brandies are aged between three to five years, though some premium varieties surpass 10 years or more.